


Carnivores

by RcA



Series: Carnivores [1]
Category: Big Bang (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Animal Traits, Blood and Gore, Creature Fic, Dominance/submission, Established Relationship, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Force-Feeding, Knotting, M/M, Marking, Minor DaeRi and GDae, Pack Dynamics, Polyamory, Possessive Behavior, Slow Decay, Themes of Hunger, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 22:15:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 38,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7731763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RcA/pseuds/RcA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Holding on tightly with tooth and claw, Seunghyun and Daesung and the rest of their fading pack cling to survival in a dying land.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First, a shout-out to Carnivor Cabernet Sauvignon, which states on its label: _man is a tool wielding animal._ Good stuff.
> 
> The terms "alpha" and "omega" as they are used here reflect the highest and lowest ranking members of a wolf pack, nothing more. This is NOT omegaverse or A/B/O.
> 
> I have created a mood board / collage that pretty well sums up the aesthetic of this fic [at this link.](http://daesungindistress.tumblr.com/post/148349283832/i-was-tagged-by-daengerous-af-to-make-a-mood) Check it out!
> 
> Lastly, this story is tough on all of Big Bang, but Daesung most of all, okay. I love him, he is my favorite, and though it may seem strange... that is precisely why I'm so hard on him. Proceed with caution.
> 
> **Disclaimer:** This is a fictional work based on the public personas of real people. Needless to say, none of this ever happened.
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

 

 

 

Daesung peers down with interest at the tracks stamped into the dirt, each set a perfect indentation of two cloven hooves. Many more like it are scattered beyond, clustering together to form a trail leading clearly in one direction, and it is there that Daesung heads in continued pursuit of his prey.

Today Daesung follows what he perceives to be the fresh trail of a deer-- a buck or a doe he does not know, and it does not matter much, though if he had a choice in the matter he would prefer a doe, whose meat is sweeter and softer. She would be a safer catch as well, especially as he is hunting solo today.

He sniffs the air; to his keen sense of smell the scent of the animal is faint, but detectable. It lingers on the tall grasses through which the deer passed as it came this way not very long ago. The smell alone-- of fur and flesh and, beneath that, hot blood and red meat-- makes his stomach clench in hunger, cramping up in am unpleasant reminder of how long he has waited for such a hearty meal as this deer would make.

It's been too long since they've last taken down an animal of this size, longer still since Daesung has managed it on his own. It isn't as though he feels he has a point to prove to his pack-- mercifully, his place in the pack is not determined by his hunting prowess. It's just... he would really like to surprise them. It has not escaped their notice that game is becoming scarcer on these lands, deer especially proving more elusive as the seasons go by. Daesung considers it luck and good fortune that's brought him upon this one today, a healthy animal he had stumbled upon quite by accident as he'd wandered away from the others during a routine scouting expedition.

To his surprise, they had let him go without a fuss, perhaps understanding his desire to roam alone for a time. And so Daesung had broken away, promising to reunite with them later, returning Seunghyun's look of concern with a reassuring smile of his own.

By now Daesung has lost track not of the animal's trail, but of how far he has traveled in search of it. He had followed the river for a time, meandering aimlessly along its curves and bends, then turned sharply south as the enticing scent of prey had found him and awoken his appetite. After that Daesung had lost count of his lefts and rights, forgotten which paths he has set foot upon, the many shaded thickets of trees and sunny fields dotted with patches of cacti all beginning to blur together in his memory.

But with every step Daesung holds onto hope that he is closing in on his prey, the chase alive in his blood, compelling him to persevere, to forge on ahead until that sublime moment when he catches sight of his coveted quarry.

And from there... well. What _does_ a wolf do when he comes within range of his prey?

Caught up in his imaginings-- in wishful musings of sinking his sharp teeth into savory flesh, of spilling warm blood over his tongue-- Daesung emerges, unexpectedly, into a clearing. He stops abruptly in his tracks, his momentum nearly carrying him forward and onto his face.

It's quiet here, and the air is deadly still. Out in the open like this, standing alone... he feels exposed. A vague impression of danger cross his senses, inexplicably like he is under observation by something menacing.

What in these woods could possibly be more formidable than one of his kind, a wolf?

It isn't right, Daesung thinks, that he should feel so afraid. He is a predator, not prey. He knows these woods well, he has traveled them many times, both alone and among the company of his pack. Solitary excursions are rarer than ever these days due to the promise of safety in numbers.

Because though Daesung tells himself otherwise to allay his fears, out here even a wolf has enemies... and he is now alone. If he is honest with himself, the woods haven't felt entirely safe as of late. Something has been here that doesn't belong, and it was here recently. It might still be here now. A chill races down his spine and sets the hairs on his tail bristling.

Man has been here.

Petrified with fear, Daesung stands frozen in place for too long, for longer than he logically knows he should. If he is truly in danger here, right now, if being out in the open like this leaves him vulnerable then the last thing he should do is remain, a rational part of his brain tells himself.

But he can't help it, can't control his body's response to the impending danger.

As a wolf, Daesung should fear no animal. He is stronger, swifter, smarter than any animal. But men have proven the most fearsome animals of all, wielding their power and cunning over lesser creatures indiscriminately. Men have weapons. Men come onto their land carrying guns, firing bullets that Daesung cannot escape should he try, no matter how fleet he may be.

Daesung does not quite consider himself an animal-- no werewolf does-- but he knows in his heart that he is not quite human either. With his heightened senses and animal instinct, his ability to extend his canines for a killing bite and unsheathe long claws from the ends of his fingers, and his permanent wolflike tail which grows from the base of his spine, Daesung settles on existing as something in-between.

He chooses not to think on it too much. It isn't important. That kind of introspection belongs solely in the minds of humans. Out here, among his kind the issue of survival is far more pressing than determining answers to the questions of _what_ or _why_.

Survival is a must. To ensure his own, he needs to get back to the others.

And so, craving the protection of his pack, Daesung calls off his personal hunt. With his instinct screaming at him to flee, to _fly_ , to run as fast and as far as he can from this place, Daesung turns back and strides as calmly as he is able in the direction he came.

Only steps away from the treeline a sound like an explosion shakes him and something whizzes past his ear, so close he feels the rush of wind in its wake rustle his hair.

Daesung tears off in a sprint, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste and fright. He runs at breakneck speed, his feet slapping noisily against the packed earth underfoot. He feels as if he must be soaring over the uneven ground, his long legs carrying him over dips and rises, though still he fears he isn't putting distance between himself and the man's terrible weapon fast enough. Sand and pebbles fly into the air behind him as fear and adrenaline push him forward with an urgency that could spell the difference between life and death.

The trees rush past him, the details of their leaves and branches a blur of colors to him, unimportant. All he sees is a tunnel opening before him, his keen eyes picking out a path of escape even as the thick foliage closes in around him.

Another shot rings out from somewhere behind him and Daesung stumbles in shock, a narrow branch whipping him across the face as his weary legs send him careening off the path and into the trees... but adrenaline numbs him to the stinging pain, and aware of nothing but the peril behind him and the path to freedom before him, he picks himself up and resumes his desperate retreat.

Daesung knows he can outrun the man. He doesn't know if he can outrun his bullets. He doesn't want to find out.

With every frantic lungful of air he draws, the crisp autumn air burns in his throat, but through it Daesung finds that he is drawing near to his pack, his saving grace. It's faint yet, but he can just sense their presence through their bond, can _just_ pick up the barest hint of their familiar, too-welcome scent carried on the wind. Daesung grits his teeth and pushes onward, the tiring muscles in his legs crying out in protest.

Something closes around his lower leg, teeth biting into his calf, and he goes down hard.

His forward momentum halted so suddenly, Daesung hits the ground with such force that all the breath goes out of him in a rush, the impact punching the air out of his lungs. It leaves him gasping for breath. The world around his goes dark and quiet beyond the pounding of his own heart in his ears.

He wrestles himself back to consciousness, like pulling himself out of a pit of sinking sand. If his sense of self-preservation wasn't so sharp he would have let the darkness take him, would have succumbed to the blissful unawareness until his time to perish was upon him.

But Daesung _wants to live_.

And so, his body shrieking in pain, Daesung twists around to see what has caught him. Though an absence of blood reveals that his skin is unbroken, his leg burns with a squeezing pain from metal jaws clamped tight. A foothold trap.

Fear and panic rise to new heights within him. His escape isn't complete; he is still pursued. He tries to squirm away, the trap pulling on his leg and igniting a flame of agony up and down the afflicted limb. Struggling to his knees and ignoring how it pains him, Daesung tugs on the trap this way and that, always to no avail. Eventually he attempts to pry the jaws of the trap open, but even his great strength does nothing to budge the steel jaws, moving neither the jaws from his leg nor the chain from where it's anchored in the ground. Frantically, clumsily, he pulls at both until his hands are red and rubbed raw and cut open in places, sweat pouring down his face and neck, a cold fear gripping him all the while.

The man is coming for him, Daesung knows this with a certainty that chills him to the bone. And just like that, Daesung realizes his error: he had been too close to the wall. Humans do everything in their power to keep his kind out, and his appetite for fresh venison had lured him too close.

And now he's trapped, a predator become prey.

Daesung uses his last option left to him: he howls his distress to the treetops, pouring all his fear and pain into the cry, hoping his packmates will hear the sound and use it to locate him as much as fearing that the man will as well. When his voice dies down, the woods stagnant and silent all around him, Daesung curls into himself and prays that it won't be too late when his packmates come for him.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
It is some time later when a scent wafting past his sensitive nose compels Daesung to raise his head in alarm. His frightened eyes cast about for movement among the trees, his ears straining for the sound of footsteps on the forest floor, a sign of something living moving through the leaves.

He sees the man long before the man sees him, but there is nothing he can do but flatten himself against the ground in dread, his heart beating out of his chest in terror when he sees the long, dark weapon the man carries.

The man turns his head and they lock eyes. Daesung's hearts stops.

The man regards him curiously for a moment. Then he sees Daesung's tail tucked between his legs and the rifle goes up, the barrel fixed on Daesung, the man peering down the sights at his trembling visage. Daesung ducks his head into his arms, hiding in the only way left to him. Some wolves would stare down the barrel of the gun in their final moments; Daesung can't claim to be one of them.

He hopes it will be quick. It is the smallest of comforts to realize that a bullet to the head or heart isn't the worst way for one of his kind to perish out here in this desolate place.

But he _does not want to die_. He isn't ready!

 A shot rings out, the explosive sound tearing through the air around Daesung, piercing to his sensitive ears. At the same time a heavy weight lands atop him. Daesung flails underneath the _thing_ crushing him to the ground, unable to make sense of it in his all-consuming fright.

" _Daesung!_ " a sharp, familiar, _welcome_ voice barks in his ear, even as the body on top of his presses him further into the dirt. "It's me! _Stay down_ ," it says with great effort.

"Seunghyun," Daesung breathes, so overcome with relief he could cry; he nearly does, the beginnings of tears pricking and stinging at his eyes. "He has a gun," he rushes to tell him, afraid now not only for himself but for his packmate, his _mate_ , shielding Daesung's body with his own.

"Not anymore he doesn't," Seunghyun says lowly, the words dissolving into a growl. In the distance Daesung can hear the sounds of a struggle, terrible sounds of a human's screams mixed with the ferocious snarling of several voices. As a background to it all, Daesung knows those distinctly fleshy sounds of talons carving through skin and muscle and even bone-- but when he turns to get a look at the action, Seunghyun maneuvers himself so that his arm and shoulder block Daesung's line of sight.

Shielded from harm like this-- from even the sight of it-- Daesung feels simultaneously comforted and suffocated. But he supposes that's how things go when it comes to Seunghyun.

He may be unable to see, but Daesung knows those voices and their accompanying scents. His pack came for him.

In time the woods fall silent. Trapped under Seunghyun as he is, his familiar weight a reassuring influence, Daesung can only breathe. He wills his body to calm, his racing heart easing into a more relaxed rhythm now that the danger has passed. Small puffs of air out his nose disturb the dirt beneath his face as he settles; now that he can think straight, Daesung finds that even the earth here reeks of the man, here where he had dug and laid his trap.

Eventually he hears the soft sound of footsteps-- not heavy, lumbering, careless footsteps like those of the man, but hushed, gliding steps, as of feet that know the earth intimately and lovingly. Daesung trusts the makers of these soft sounds and is glad to hear them drawing near.

"Daesung!" One pair of feet comes at him faster than the others. "Are you okay? We came as soon as we heard," Seungri says, peering down at him in worry as Seunghyun picks himself up off the ground, and off Daesung. Daesung says nothing, only accepts a hand up, balancing most of his weight on his free leg. He weakly returns the enthusiastic hug Seungri gives him. Seungri's bloody hands leave red handprints on his jacket where he pulls Daesung to him.

He is still in shock from his near-death experience.

"I wandered too far," Daesung finally states, realizing his folly that had almost cost him his life. "You came," he says in shock and awe.

"Of course we came!" Jiyong says, looking harried. "We heard your cry and smelled that vile hunter at about the same time. We heard the gunshots too. We thought you'd been shot, we were freaking _the fuck_ out."

"I'm sorry. I was tracking a deer. I thought..." Daesung says, hesitating. "I thought I could surprise you all with it." He glances to his side at Seunghyun, who hasn't taken his eyes off him since he stood. He looks shaken.

"You're staying with us from now on," he declares, his tone leaving no room for argument. Daesung hangs his head, unwilling to disagree. He is too relieved to feel ashamed, too lost in the aftershocks of fear, too pleased to be alive and surrounded by his loved ones to feel any kind of resentment over so brusquely being told what he can or cannot do. Seunghyun snatches up Daesung's hand in his, and the way he squeezes his hand as he says, "Forget the deer. I don't want you going off alone again," tells Daesung all he needs to know.

He hadn't been alone in his fear.

They bury the man's gun deep in the soil, and after that his trap, which they eventually open with the aid of a key that they salvage from the man's shredded remains. "There's no place for weapons like that on these lands," Jiyong mutters after they've filled the holes with dirt and kicked some leaves over them for good measure.

No one questions their leader's logic, least of all Daesung. As werewolves go, they may be of a watered down variety, but they are proud of their way of life.

His hand firmly encased in Seunghyun's, Daesung squeezes back and the five of them make their way home together. They give the man's grisly remains a wide berth as they pass, but as for Daesung, at the sight of the threat eliminated, the work of his packmates, the evidence of their commitment to him and his continuance as one of them, one of _theirs_ , he remembers to breathe.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
The werewolves of lore are gone now. Generations of interbreeding with humans has watered down their wolf blood, resulting in present-day populations of wolves who have long since lost their ability to transform. Instead they retain only a few select physical traits which they can summon and tuck away at will: long, sharp canines, deadly claws that grow from the ends of their fingers, golden eyes like those of their wolf ancestors, and the unique vocal folds that produce the same snarls and growls as those of the wild animals from which they descended... and then there is the tail. A werewolf's tail is long and amply furred and hangs to the knee-- a vestigial limb that serves little purpose in today's wolves but to function as a little-needed communication aid.

Perhaps somewhere in the vast, wide world there still exist wolves who can achieve a full canine form. Perhaps their skeletons shift and bend and they prowl the woods on all fours, padded paws skimming over the earth with an agility exclusive to this world's four-legged creatures. Perhaps they grow long, tipped ears that swivel in every direction, turning to capture a sound in its entirety. Perhaps their skin sprouts hair, their bodies becoming home to a thick pelt of fur that protects them from the harsh elements upon venturing outdoors. But not one member of the Big Bang pack has ever met one, nor ever heard more than legend of one.

Where the wolf ancestry remains strong is in their behavior, their dominant animal instinct. A lone wolf cannot survive; pack life is hardwired into them. Pack dynamics are everything, the struggle for dominance and submission among their peers simply a way of life, the hierarchy as natural and normal to them as breathing. They hunt in packs, they feed in packs, they survive in packs. Without each other there would be no future for wolves.

Their significantly human appearance means that today's wolves can blend in well enough among humans-- better than ever, in fact-- living and working peacefully inside the high, guarded walls of their cities for a time... however, discovery is only a matter of time, as the wolf nature is difficult to suppress and all too easy for non-wolves to identify. Though their appearance resembles humans, wolves are far more powerful, capable of inflicting tremendous damage using only what nature gave them-- their claws and teeth, their speed, and their superhuman strength.

And then there is the damning tail. All of their wolf features can be hidden away to assume a perfectly human form... save for the tail.

Seunghyun doesn't think much of his tail; it is simply a part of him, one that he feels and certainly uses, routinely without realizing. Always behind him, Seunghyun's tail is an extra limb that he doesn't see often enough to appreciate.

He appreciates Daesung's though. _That_ tail he sees often, and he feels it in quite a different way, petting it when he feels affectionate, tugging on it when he feels playful, and pinching the end of it when Daesung commits some act that requires punishment.

Sometimes he just holds it simply because he wants to. Does it matter _why_ he wants to? Of course not; Seunghyun is a wolf and he does what he wants.

And so it goes, that humans fear wolves immensely, killing them when possible and driving them out of their cities when not, forcing them into primitive lives more suited to animals than the weakening animal-human hybrids they've become.

Yet they find it's hard to resent humans for inflicting on them such a lifestyle when it is all they have ever known. And so they are neither bitter nor resentful, nor jealous; they are only wary, and cautious, as they know they must be when in the presence of a human who is armed and who would fire a lead bullet into a wolf on sight, no questions asked, no remorse felt.

The incident the other day had been a close call. They had come too close to losing one of their own. For Seunghyun, to lose Daesung would be to lose half of his soul. The loss of his mate would do him irreparable damage, would deal him a wound from which, deep in his wolf's heart, he knows that he would never recover.

It cannot happen again.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
They don't always hunt. They must first rest and gather up enough strength for the effort. A hunt that involves all five of them and ends in success is never a small undertaking. Fierce predators though they are, their preferred prey is superbly equipped with an unmatched means of escape.

To catch a deer requires great effort. They've been lucky before, but to put venison on the menu is ordinarily requires the whole team.

So they scout the land regularly, monitoring the movement of the herds and picking out their targets in advance of the hunt. And when they are suitably rested, when hunger comes upon them and drives them out of their den, their ramshackle structure that passes for a house, only just meeting their need for shelter, they go out together, five as one, to land their next meal.

 _That_ is when they hunt. On those days, if their combined efforts are successful, they have fresh meat and blood that is not just warm but hot, straight from the source. They hunt with tooth and talon and an agile cunning borne of equal parts instinct and years of experience, flushing out their prey and driving it to where the others lie in wait.

There is nothing graceful about the takedown. It’s a messy and stressful affair for all involved, pinning the wretched animal to the ground with jaws crushing the windpipe until it suffocates. Sometimes even a grievous wound isn't enough and the animal flees for what feels like miles to hungry wolves, and they must track it further, following the blood trail to its source. Sometimes the death is swift; if the animal has antlers they can grab it by the horns and, with a sharp twist, break the neck, bringing the animal instant death and themselves a ready meal. But in most cases they must practice waiting, patiently but with hunger burning in their eyes, until the poor creature's heart pulses and quivers and dies at last, falling into stillness.

That is when they feast.

Among their pack there is a primitive system in place wherein whichever wolf delivered the killing blow is allowed to dig in first. Beyond that, the alpha is first in line. Along with Seungri, Daesung is among the last to approach their kill. He doesn't mind it though; the others make sure there is always plenty to satisfy the appetites of their youngest.

When it's his turn Daesung doesn’t hesitate, not anymore. He thinks that if there is one thing that could ever rival the thrill of the hunt, it is the urgency of the meal that follows. A flame of hunger spears the adrenaline clogging his senses. It drives him to his hands and knees. Mindless, he pushes his face into coarse fur, pierces skin with sharp fangs, carves his teeth into the bright red flesh beneath it all, clenches his jaw around a heated mouthful and pulls. His meaty reward goes down as easily as water, disappearing into his rapidly filling belly as quickly as if he were inhaling it, just breathing it in.

In these moments Daesung truly feels like a beast. With is packmates beside him, equally lost in their hunger, he is just another animal clawing for survival, and doing what he was born to do-- _catch and eat meat_. It's a simple purpose, and to meet it is the ultimate satisfaction. There is blood and gore on his face, smeared thick and viscous across his lips and chin and nose. In his haste some it ends up on the collar of his shirt and jacket, but he pays it no mind; for one of his kind blood stains and traces of gristle are nothing new.

After the meal comes a powerful, bone-deep gratification. Daesung feels heavy, sedated, utterly content. Seunghyun leans into him and licks the blood off his face, sucking on his lips until every crease is clear of it. Daesung opens his mouth to him, sharing with his mate the taste and evidence of their abundance, delighting in their mutual gratification, the sating of their hunger.

Nothing about it is graceful or refined. Sometimes it's as if, for Seunghyun, it isn't enough to consume the animal directly; his meal is not truly over until he has eaten the animal's bloody remains off of Daesung, not letting him up until no traces of their kill remain. Sometimes Daesung finds the attention a hair overwhelming, but more often than not the whole affair leaves him too blissed out to do anything more than let his eyes drift shut peacefully and allow Seunghyun to do as he pleases.

Like this, with the others at his side, he can't imagine any other life for him, sometimes forgets how he lived before he was brought into the family rather unintentionally. Daesung has learned to love it, this savage side of himself, this visceral and terrible biology of theirs that ties the five of them together.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
As surely the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so do the members of the Big Bang pack find themselves embroiled in territorial disputes with neighboring wolves.

They've fought hard to gain these hunting grounds, wresting the land from rival packs in a series of small but savage skirmishes that often leave them licking at their wounds. Intruders on their land means that many of their days not spent searching for game are spent patrolling. Yes, they've fought hard to earn the right to the land, and some days they fight harder still to hold it.

The land is their livelihood. Without it they could not hope to feed themselves; out here they survive only by killing to eat and eating what they kill. Wildlife is not exactly abundant, but it's enough and they do their best to manage what they have, monitoring the herds of deer and antelope and wild hogs as responsibly as they're able. Always looking to the future, unusually shrewd for a wolf, Jiyong stresses the importance of a sustainable harvest. "Let nothing go to waste," he says, "Use everything you can."

Neighboring packs are not as careful with their shared resources, taking recklessly and greedily and leaving behind what they cannot consume in one sitting. " _Wasteful_ ," Jiyong calls it, his usually smooth face twisted up in an ugly sneer.

Such fierce competition for resources means that they must frequently go out as a unit to defend what is theirs, the five of them moving as one, a formidable enemy. Every one of them is a capable fighter, but with Jiyong and Youngbae at the flanks, the swiftest and most cunning among them, no threat can hope to take them by surprise. Standing firmly and confidently at the center is Seunghyun, their tallest and most imposing figure. Daesung and Seungri, the two youngest, travel along the inside, sheltered by their older packmates yet ready to spring into action whenever needed.

Most days they find nothing out of place-- no trespassers sniffing about and threatening their carefully guarded lives-- and what begins as a patrol ends as a bonding trip. They roughhouse each other, Youngbae's and Jiyong's playful bantering turning into playfighting, Seungri watching from the side with an expression like he wants to join in but doesn't know if he's allowed, the end of his tail hanging low and wagging gently, hopefully-- until one of them grabs him by the wrist and pulls him into the fray. Seunghyun jumps on Daesung's back and demands to be carried, spurring him forward and onward until Daesung eventually whines that he's too heavy and Seunghyun slides off, the two of them flashing each other toothy grins.

And if they are still out as the sun sinks to the horizon, the sky beginning to darken, like five overgrown pups they take turns pouncing on and wrestling one another into the cool sand, rolling and tumbling head over heels with each other until they're too winded, too breathless with laughter, to move any further.

In these moments, to outsiders they must be far from intimidating. But it is play sessions like these that reinforce their pack bonds, cement their shared connection and make their pack stronger.

When it comes to play, Youngbae and Seunghyun are bold competitors, always determined to come out on top. Though his body is strong, sculpted in lean muscle as a wolf in his prime should be, Daesung lacks his packmates' competitive streak and surrenders to their manhandling easily, putting on a great show of resistance while dutifully letting his elders pin him to the ground. Seungri tries, he does, but his strength does not match his fiery temper, and he often finds himself equally, handily subdued. Jiyong oversees from the side, delighting in his small pack's antics but preferring to stay out of the worst of it. His strength lies in his speed and cunning, his aptitude for making quick, smart decisions on a moment's notice...

...and in how he holds them all together, this ragtag bachelor pack they call family.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
When they do spot an outsider wolf, it's frequently a lone scout, small and quick-footed, capable of fleeing swiftly through the trees and brush to disappear from sight. And while they do not always manage to catch intruders, to scare them off is sufficiently satisfying.

That is what they find today. She is small in stature, a petite look about her, but Seunghyun knows better than to underestimate a wolf no matter how non-threatening she may look. To his keen eyes she appears to be making some manner of mark on a tree, carving crude lines into its rough bark with her long claws, scanning her surroundings with caution, yet somehow managing to completely Seunghyun and the others, crouched low and concealed in the tall grass a short distance away.

Youngbae tears off after her, always the first to take action when he spots a threat. Jiyong follows only a split second later, then Seunghyun, with Daesung and Seungri taking up the rear, the five of them in hot pursuit.

It doesn't take long. She may be fast, but Youngbae runs like the wind and strikes like lightning.

When he tackles her to the ground, wrapping strong arms tightly around hers to prevent her claws from doing what they're designed to do-- slice through flesh-- she hisses and spits at him in a fashion more akin to a wild cat than a wolf. To Seunghyun it's downright unnatural. He goes straight for the back of her skull, pushing her head into the sand, and the rest do their part in holding the rest of her down, Daesung and Seungri restraining her legs, one for each of them.

"Well, hello again. What are you doing out here, I wonder?" Jiyong inquires, crouching in the sand and leaning in close. "Carving hearts into trees? You deface our property."

"Fuck you all, let me _go!_ " she screeches, struggling under their combined strength. She acts tough but Seunghyun smells her fear loud and clear, presses his thumb over her jugular and feels her fright in the racing of her heart.

"We keep catching you. Every time we let you go... and every time you come back. You, or one of your other thieving packmates. This doesn't seem to be working for either of us," Jiyong says with a sigh, like it's the most tragic thing. When she only glares up at him in reply, he continues, "We should have killed you by now. Why shouldn't we do it now?"

"...The animals are moving on," she says, bristling with anger "They won't stay on our land. We have no choice but to follow them."

"That's because you other packs don't know how to manage what you've got," Jiyong says with obvious disdain. "You overhunt and you're wasteful. You leave half-eaten carcasses strewn across the land. It's no wonder the herds are migrating," he scoffs, regarding her like he would a bug on the sole of his shoe.

"You think you're so high and mighty," she replies. "But there are so _few_ of you. If you were part of a larger pack like mine, you would understand how hard it is just to get by."

"We can reduce your pack's number by one right now if it will help," says Seunghyun, unable to hold his silence any longer and looking her dead in the eye with a solemn expression. He is completely serious, and he knows she can read his murderous intent on his face by the way she recoils when he catches her eye.

Seunghyun has dangerous eyes, a feature he takes full advantage of.

Jiyong continues as if Seunghyun hadn't spoken. After all, intimidation tactics are par for the course in these types of encounters. "Don't forget that what you do with your little patch of land affects the rest of us, too," he warns. "We can tell that the herds are feeling pressured. At this rate they might move on and disappear altogether. Then what? We all starve? We all die?"

He stoops to her level and curls his lip to bare his long canines, a promise of pain as he says, "I won't let that happen."

She shrinks back and says nothing, and Jiyong rises again. "Figure out how to keep your bloodlust in check, or else learn what it means to go hungry," he says, all business. "You've made your bed. Now sleep in it."

He gives Youngbae a look and Youngbae drags her to her feet, still pinning her arms though she no longer fights him. "I want you to be a messenger," Jiyong announces. "Tell your alpha that the next time we find one of you on our land, there will be blood. We protect what is ours. We're not fucking playing around with you any longer."

They never were playing to begin with, Seunghyun notes dryly, but times of plenty have inspired lenience in all of them. Now the winds are changing. And if Seunghyun has felt it, Jiyong has known for far longer, has seen this coming time of famine from a great distance. Things cannot stay as they are.

With that said, Jiyong nods to Youngbae, who releases the girl, shoving her away from himself in case she turns and strikes in one final, desperate attempt at injuring a powerful pack over whom she and her own have never had the upper hand. She doesn't; she sprints away without another look back.

Just before the she-wolf passes out of earshot Jiyong calls out to her, "Stay within your own borders and maybe you'll live longer!"

Seunghyun watches her form grows smaller in the distance, fighting the urge to voice his disapproval over their leader's decision to let another one go without consequence, just like that. He understands Jiyong's policy of avoiding conflict unless strictly necessary; out here, beyond the reach of advanced care, a werewolf whose blood is more human than wolf may find that even a small wound can prove fatal. Seunghyun understands and, to the best of his ability, abides by it.

It doesn't mean he has to like it.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
It hasn't always been so desperate, living on the edge like this, but they have never exactly flourished. Among other packs they have never successfully implemented a system of trading and bartering for goods and services. Their wolf blood is too hostile to foreign wolves to tolerate that kind of cooperation. But that is not to say that exchanges don't take place from time to time, among a select few individuals. Sometimes it's food. Sometimes it's sexual favors. Out here feeding and fighting and fucking is more than a fact of life, it is a _way_ of life. A wolf's body demands things vigorously, persuasively; primal urges are nothing to be ashamed of.

The first time Seunghyun discovered that Daesung had been on his knees for a wolf other than himself-- worse, a wolf outside their close-knit pack-- had been the last time.

All over a pack of cigarettes, one of Seunghyun's guiltiest and scarcest pleasures, to his mate's chagrin. The smell of tar and burning smoke appalls his sensitive nose and burns his eyes. But And when Daesung had crossed paths with another wolf late one evening by chance and this rare thing was offered to him, the crinkled carton clutched in the other wolf's hand like the bounty it was, Daesung had given it a long, considering look... then sunk to his knees without a word and paid the asking price.

Upon learning what lengths Daesung had gone to in order to procure such a small thing, Seunghyun had been overtaken with a jealous rage. The scent of another wolf on _his mate_ , though Daesung had vigorously tried to rid himself of it, had plagued Seunghyun for longer than he can recount. He had taken Daesung to bed countless times, until the stench of another was buried beneath his own, beyond detection, _erased_ , until Daesung had come to bear his scent once again.

As a courtesy to Daesung, who seemed contrite enough, Seunghyun had tried the cigarettes. They had tasted like ash in his mouth... and not in the usual way. The knowledge of his mate's sacrifice destroyed their flavor, robbed them of their calming effect.

Worst of all for Seunghyun was the terrible fear of the danger Daesung had subjected himself to, the vulnerable position he had willingly, _foolishly_ put himself in, for a trivial thing Seunghyun had not needed. He refuses to dwell on it, cannot bear to think of it. They have never spoken of it since.

But sometimes this is the way of their world. On rare occasions the others have taken the same measures for an item they sorely needed. For what is dignity when a member of their pack is ill and requires medication that they don't have? When he can't keep anything down and grows weaker by the day? What is dignity when they're fucking _wolves_ , and their only goal is to ensure that they and their own survive? Should they not protect themselves and those they love with every means of survival at their disposal?

Every one of them has his strengths, and though loathe to admit it, each has his own unique weaknesses. Daesung's weakness is caring too much. Seunghyun's weakness is Daesung.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Seunghyun leaves marks.

They aren't deep, and they certainly are not ugly. As far as Seunghyun can tell, Daesung seems proud to wear them, and Seunghyun is prouder still to make them. He leaves them up and down the back of Daesung's neck, scatters them like water droplets across the smooth slope of his neck into shoulder, where the muscle is firm but the skin velvet soft. His sharp fangs sink all too easily into his mate's skin, and that Daesung lets him, that he puts up little or no resistance to this act of possession, fills Seunghyun with a dark, powerful delight.

In the end, many of the marks settle into scars. Permanent reminders of Seunghyun's presence here, badges of his love. His bite draws blood, just a droplet of deep scarlet welling up in the wake of his piercing fangs. With time the tooth marks scab over, the shallow wounds eventually stitching themselves back together with new skin so smooth it reflects the light when it hits just right, more beautiful than it was before it was blemished.

Daesung's scars are the first place Seunghyun's eyes go when Daesung bares the back of his neck for him. When he sheds his clothing and dips his head in surrender, Seunghyun mounts him from behind and marvels at his work, his signature written in skin. Nothing is more captivating to him than the sight of his mark on his mate, evidence that this beautiful wolf belongs with Seunghyun, _to_ Seunghyun, as one of his own.

So he lets his pointed canines drop, touches them to the canvas of skin along the top of Daesung's back, and with just a little pressure than the skin has give, adds to his ever-expanding signature across Daesung's back. Daesung endures the process with barely a flinch. By now he is well accustomed to the pricking sensation of Seunghyun's eager teeth digging in, gnawing and nibbling on whatever part of him his mouth can reach. The light sting of Seunghyun's tongue lapping hungrily at his blood as it floats up into the wound is a familiar comfort, a ritual uniquely theirs.

Seunghyun marvels at this beautiful man below him, this wolf who goes tame beneath his teeth, like he isn't a wild creature through and through, heart, mind, and soul.

Seunghyun wants to devour Daesung. Wants to unhinge his jaw, gobble him up, choke him down. He would swallow him whole if he could. So he does what he can to satisfy his animal appetite without actually tearing his mate apart; catches Daesung's skin between his teeth, learns how hard he can bite before the skin breaks, commits to memory the exact pressure the skin will accept before it gives way to the pointed ends of his canines... and then, needing to know how much Daesung will tolerate after teeth have broken through, he routinely tests his lover's threshold for pain, impulsively curious and insatiably ravenous.

He cannot get enough of Daesung.

With his tongue he laves the wounds he inflicts, small but numerous, little puncture marks concentrated behind his ears, his neck, his shoulders and upper back, all the places Seunghyun can reach with ease while he is hunched over Daesung's strong back and fucking into him with all the ferocity of his wild ancestry. Daesung doesn't spar with him when he is worked up, won't fight him when he craves an outlet-- that's more Youngbae's forte-- but he gives Seunghyun other avenues for working out his aggression.

He gives Seunghyun himself. And in every way he can Seunghyun makes Daesung his.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
"I've heard there's a place where humans and wolves coexist," Seungri says one day as they're loafing around outside, cooling off in the shade of a mesquite tree. Daesung gives him a dull look over the bone he nibbles on. "Sounds pretty great, huh?"

"Where did you hear that?" Daesung says with little interest, his attention fixed on the bundle of feathers and bones in his hands. With nimble fingers he plucks at bits of meat sticking to fragile, hollow bones. Game has been scarcer than usual as of late; beneath all their plumage birds like the grouse he's caught, about the size of a small chicken, are sparse nourishment, but any meal is better than nothing at all.

"...I don't remember," Seungri replies a little sadly.

"Wait. Is this one of those stories your parents told you as a pup? Once upon a time, in a land far, far away..."

"I like to think there's some truth to it," Seungri replies, a faint pout dancing on his lips. "We're not that different from them, are we? Hell, we're probably half-human ourselves by now. Maybe more."

"That," Seunghyun says, pointing at Seungri's tail, "is decidedly very _not_ human."

"What, this thing?" Seungri twists around eyeing his silvery tail curled beside him in the grass. "So what? A little bone, a little fur. Nothing to get worked up over. Humans are strange," he mumbles. "I wouldn't hurt them if they wouldn't hurt _me_. I just think--"

"It doesn't matter what you think," Seunghyun says, cutting him off. "What matters is how they think. And they don't think very highly of us wolves. Unless you want to get shot. Or burned alive. Or tied up and eaten by dogs. Or--"

" _Okay_ ," Seungri and Daesung say in unison, Seungri looking disgruntled, Daesung a little ill. Seunghyun takes notice of how Daesung picks idly at the clump of feathers in his lap, having stripped the bird's bones of every last morsel while he and Seungri were bickering.

Without a word Seunghyun hands Daesung the leftovers of his own catch. Daesung gives him grateful smile but waves away his offering; so Seunghyun simply drops it onto his lap. His eyes flit down to the bird, then back up to Daesung. _Eat, or else_. Daesung sighs and picks it up, lips and teeth and tongues going to work on cleaning the tiny bones.

They're all a little hungry these days.

"Okay," Daesung says after a moment, conceding easily enough in spite of his lingering skepticism. "So where is this place? If it was close I'm sure I'd have heard of it by now."

"Somewhere out west," Seungri replies vaguely, a little disappointed. "That's as much as I know."

The three of them fall silent for a time, until Daesung eventually drops the remains of his meal on the ground beside him, the birds' diminutive carcasses reduced to piles of inedibles: skin, feathers, and bones.

"...Well, I've never heard of it," Daesung says very quietly. "Humans and wolves living together peacefully? No offense, Seungri, but it sounds too good to be true."

Seungri bristles at that. He opens his mouth to defend his position when Seunghyun speaks up.

"I've heard of it," he admits, adding his voice to the conversation. "It's been a long time, but..." Daesung turns to him, and Seunghyun wants nothing more than to protect that glimmer of hope in his dark eyes.

"Where? From who?"

"My parents, I think. Feels like a lifetime ago," Seunghyun mutters, his deep voice rumbling with recollection of a memory decades old.

The flicker of hope dies and he seems to shut down, something in him closing off. "Fairy tales," he says softly. "My parents didn't tell me those kinds of stories."

"I doubt any of it is real," Seunghyun agrees. He ignores the hurt look Seungri sends in his direction.

"What does Jiyong think?" Seungri demands, not easily dissuaded. "He's been around. I bet he's heard _something_. I know he knows more than he lets on."

"He's... aware. It's been years since we've discussed it though. As far as I can tell, he isn't much of a believer," Seunghyun answers, choosing his words with care. Besides that, Seunghyun thinks, it would be far too risky for them to pick up and go, just like that, without knowing what's really out there. Nomadic life is perilous, life on the go fraught with danger. Seunghyun has been there, experienced it; he isn't ready to return to that manner of living.

"Well," Seungri says with his usual stubbornness, "Believe what you will, but before I die I want to find this place. I hope I can go there one day," he says resolutely. Then, very quietly, so softly that Seunghyun almost doesn't hear him, "I hope we can _all_ go."

A hushed silence blankets the three of them as they reflect on the possibilities that lie before them, a dwelling beyond danger, a better place for them outside the realm of dreams. A world in which they could do more than merely survive, but thrive. Could such a thing exist?

"I think we're fine where we are," Daesung says softly. "Don't you?" Seunghyun only shrugs. Seungri says nothing.

And that's the end of that.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Seunghyun is a predator, born and bred for the kill; his very design dictates that he live on the life of other living things, eating their flesh and absorbing their vitality. It is his primary, singular purpose... but in the years they have been together, he has learned that bedding Daesung comes in a close second.

Seunghyun buries his hand in the head of hair before him and yanks back on it, not gently. There is nothing gentle about them when they do this, nothing mild about their sex, nothing tender in the way they fuck. Under Seunghyun's rough handling Daesung throws his head back, the base of his skull kissing the back of his own neck, the length of his throat bared, his lips parted in abandon. To Seunghyun's hungry eyes the line of his neck is long and enticing; his gums itch with the desire to stab his fangs into the skin there, to jab his teeth into the tendons on sharp display.

Times like this Seunghyun must sharply remind himself that Daesung is his _mate_ , not his meal. His partner, not his prey. He drives Seunghyun absolutely wild.

At one end Seunghyun works his cock into the tight squeeze of his lover's body, a roll of his hips driving his length into his blazing heat while Daesung squirms underneath him on hands and knees. At the other end of the body before him, Seunghyun feasts on a spread of Daesung's sweat-dampened skin, attacking him with teeth and tongue and an intense, insatiable passion.

"Gonna make you mine," he growls against the shell of Daesung's ear.

"I'm already yours," Daesung says breathily, gasping softly when teeth nip at his ear, the line of his jaw, whatever he can reach. Seunghyun grins at that. He isn't _wrong_...

"That's right," he growls. "I'll make sure everyone knows it." He is confident the world knows of his claim over this man, if not by the marks Seunghyun carves into him then by his lingering scent borne by Daesung wherever he goes. The signs should be clear to any wolf-- but Seunghyun isn't taking any chances. Daesung is too precious to him to lose to another.

"Gonna fill you up, give you all I've got. I'm gonna-- gonna put pups in you," he promises, the last words dissolving into a low rumble, a primal sound. Much as Seunghyun wishes he could, he cannot impregnate Daesung, his male lover. That is not the law of nature. It won't stop him from pretending though, from chasing the fantasy.

Daesung whines, pushing back to meet Seunghyun's thrusts, his spine arching beautifully as he slides over and onto his cock. "I would," he pants, rocking forward with the force of Seunghyun's thrusts as he is ravaged at both ends. "If I could, I would have them for you."

"They would be perfect," Seunghyun moans as he imagines it, the thought that this act of their coupling could inspire life inside him. He would plant in Daesung a seed that would grow, he would care for Daesung, a fierce and unyielding sentinel over the tiny life inside, until it came time for their child-- or children-- to arrive into the world. Multiple offspring are not the norm in today's strain of wolves, their reproductive abilities being closer to that of humans, but twins or triplets are not extremely uncommon.

Seunghyun believes he and Daesung would have a big litter. Daesung is Seunghyun's perfect match, he knows his perfect body would provide fertile ground for Seunghyun's seed were it possible. Their pups would reflect all the best parts of their sires. If only it were possible.

"Yes," Daesung sighs, "Yes, _yes, I wish-- ah--_ " he jerks as Seunghyun digs fingers into his belly where the skin is smooth and soft but the muscle beneath is firm and unyielding, lean and defined. He curls fingers into the thin trail of hair there and pulls; Daesung jerks under him and mewls, a mixed sound of pain and pleasure. If his fantasy were possible, if his wish came true, Seunghyun thinks with a fierce protective instinct rising in him, this place, _here_ , is where the evidence of their bond would grow, the physical, lasting proof of their consummation.

But this world is no place for pups, no place to start a family, no environment for raising children. This land they call home is too harsh, this barren landscape on which they scrape up a living too unforgiving for the fragility of new life. The last thing their small pack needs is more mouths to feed, more bellies to fill. They struggle already to meet their own needs.

Seunghyun supposes he can do without his own young so long as he has his pack, so long as he has Daesung. He finds he is perfectly content to forego starting his own family for as long as he can maintain this one.

Daesung drops his head between his shoulders and moans at length, a breathy, lustful sound. It is music to Seunghyun's ears, a song that ignites a fire in his belly and drives him forward, crashing into Daesung again and again, driving his hard flesh into his mate's as fully as he can, pushing his cock as deeply into his willing body as he is physically able.

When Seunghyun comes he sinks back onto his heels, takes Daesung's slim hips in hand and pulls him back onto his lap, crushes their bodies together and holds him there like that, until that place at the base of his cock begins to swell above and beyond the rest, his knot forming inside of Daesung and effectively locking them together. A series of heartbeats later, under his own hand, Daesung comes rather more quietly.

The knot is another physical trait he possesses courtesy of the wolf blood pumping hotly through his veins, one that the human influence has yet failed to erase in him. Genetic dilution means that the knot is fast disappearing, however; Seunghyun has met and mated with wolves who lacked the knot, who had lost the ability to form a tie, men whose cocks functioned like a human's and little more.

The purpose of the knot is to better ensure reproductive success. Nothing of what he puts in his lover goes to waste; tied together like this, the knot plugging the place where he and his mate are connected, his seed cannot spill out.

Of course, it doesn't matter in the end. Daesung is unable to give him that. Used for reproductive purposes or not, the knotting process among wolves is an established, irrefutable act of dominance regardless of his partner's sex.

"Wish I could knot you over and over," he moans into the skin of Daesung's back, tongue darting out to taste the sheen of sweat between his shoulderblades.

"You can," Daesung says, shifting on his lap. He makes a small sound when the movement pulls on Seunghyun's knot lodged just inside him, still growing. Seunghyun winces and squeezes his hips to keep him still.

"We'd be here all day," Seunghyun says, groaning as Daesung fidgets atop him some more. "Can you _hold still?_ "

"Well, what else do we have to do?" Daesung says, When he turns his head to grin impishly at Seunghyun over his shoulder, Seunghyun dives in and bites at the corner of his lip in playful retribution. Then, for good measure, he pinches the base of Daesung's tail, which pulls a surprised yelp out of the man on his lap.

"Fuck, _Daesung_ , if you don't stop moving you're going to be hurting later, I'll make sure of it," he says, menacing, but not meaning him any real harm.

"Ah," Daesung gasps sharply. "Mm, you know, I was just thinking... we have knots, but at least we don't have a bone in our dicks like an actual wolf would. How does that even work," Daesung says, completely out of the blue, and it tugs a surprised laugh out of Seunghyun.

"Speak for yourself," he replies, and drags Daesung back against him tightly, his tail trapped between them.

Once Seunghyun's knot has reached its full size, its bulk filling the space between them where their bodies are joined, ass to groin, Seunghyun reaches around Daesung and takes his cock in hand, closing his palm and fingers tightly around the thick base. With his thumb and forefinger he forms a tight ring, mimicking the exquisite hold Daesung's hole has on his own cock. If he does this right, catches Daesung by the cock just after he's come, he can encourage Daesung's body to form a knot of its own.

As a dominant wolf Seunghyun will likely never allow Daesung to top him, and the sensation his hand gives isn't the same, but he wants Daesung to experience this special part of his anatomy, too, this gift of his animal ancestry. He more than deserves it.

" _Oh_ ," Daesung gasps and pushes eagerly into his hand, a quick jerk of his hips as the knot forms at the base of his still-erect cock-- Seunghyun feels his hot skin growing more tightly drawn as blood rushes to fill it, Daesung's knot expanding against the ring of his fingers-- and the forward movement of Daesung's hips, though small, tugs Seunghyun with him.

He loves being connected to Daesung like this. In this position they truly are one until the knot wears off and the tie is broken. That only he is allowed into Daesung like this gives him the greatest, most sinful satisfaction... It astonishes Seunghyun, that anytime he desires him, this beautiful man, this kind soul, this strong, young, _incredible_ wolf gives himself up like a sacrifice over and over again.

Until the day he dies, Seunghyun will never end his fight to protect what he has, what they have, the pair of them, Daesung and him. With every day that passes, with every rise and fall of the sun and the moon, in times of hardship though their bodies may grow weaker, their bond grows ever stronger.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
"Shit, _get down_."

Jiyong barks the order and without question Seunghyun drops to the ground. Alongside him Jiyong does the same. It's just the two of them out today, gone out to check on the movement of their local herds. They've been on the move lately, more restless than ever due to some circumstance he and Jiyong have not yet been able to identify. Every day they must travel farther to find them; it's bad news for the pack.

Peering through the tall grass, through the dried yellow stalks Seunghyun sees what Jiyong had spotted first: humans, a small group of them this time. Are they out in packs now, too? He counts four of them this time, every one of them armed with his own hunting rifle. A spike of fear stabs through him just at the sight of the weapons.

He is glad now that he had insisted Daesung stay behind for this scouting trip, indebted to his own protective instinct, instinct which sometimes operates outside the realm of reason. He and Jiyong have left Daesung and Seungri back at the shack under the watchful eye of Youngbae. It isn't that Daesung is incapable of caring for himself, but after that last encounter...

Too close. Much too close.

Seunghyun will never forget the icy terror that had poured over him when he laid eyes on his mate entangled in that trap, caught in place, defenseless. He will do everything in his power to make sure that Daesung never has to face down the business end of a gun again. He hadn't had time to think, his body moving of its own accord without thought when he had flung himself over his the other man like a shield. All Seunghyun knows now is that he had been prepared to take a bullet for Daesung that day, had been ready to throw down his life solely for the protection of his mate.

"Four of them? Damnit," Seunghyun curses. The odds are wildly against them. If there was just one, he and Jiyong might be able to successfully ambush him. There is nothing they can do against this many.

"Fuckers," Jiyong hisses angrily. "Are they what's been driving away our herds? Look at them, stomping all over everything without a care in the world. Take away those guns of theirs and they wouldn't be so tough."

"Always a high opinion of humans, hm?" Seunghyun says, glancing to the side at Jiyong as he says it. Jiyong declines to answer, only shakes his head, his lips drawn down in a crooked frown.

Side by side he and Jiyong follow the hunters, always keeping what they deem a safe distance, observing them with both interest and trepidation. By day's end they've watched, appalled, as the men have taken several good animals with a well-placed bullet to the heart, the lung, the neck, always from an impossible distance, only the deadly weapons they carry making the feat possible. Faced with gunpowder and a lead bullet, their prey more often than not dropping to the ground right where they stand.

The gunpowder smell and the sound, like thunder from a nearby lightning strike-- the kind that strikes the earth in such close proximity that they _smell_ the electricity in the air-- nearly sends them slinking home with their tails tucked between their legs.

There is nothing they can do against this kind of power, not right now. They might need to lie low for a while.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Daesung pushes Seungri up against a tree, careful not to hurt him but with enough insistence to let Seungri know that he means business.

"Wait, Daesung," Seungri says, breathless with an undeniable excitement of his own. "Wait, stop... What about Seunghyun?"

Daesung pauses, blowing his bangs out of his eyes with an impatient puff of air through pouty lips. He will have to ask Jiyong to trim his hair again. It falls into his eyes, obscuring his vision, and grows so fast that before he knows it the uneven ends are tickling his lashes again. "Seunghyun? What about him?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but he's kind of..." Seungri hesitates, biting at his own lip hard; Daesung's eyes are drawn to the motion. "He's really fucking possessive over you."

Daesung can't help the grin that splits his face. Seungri is _afraid_. How about that? "It's fine, Seungri," he says, "As long as you don't mount me, he isn't going to care what we do together." He resumes fiddling with the buttons on Seungri's pants.

"Really?"

"Yes, really! Really, as in, I really just want to suck you off right now. Come _on_ ," he whines, tugging at Seungri's pants again.

Seungri grabs his hands. "And I want you to! But I also want to _live_." Daesung huffs in frustration and gives Seungri a pointed look, pursing his lips... But then he registers the gleam of genuine fright in Seungri's eyes, a special kind of anxiety reserved for when Seunghyun is part of the equation. His mate is pretty terrifying, even when he doesn't mean to be. He takes pity on his younger packmate.

"Really, Seungri, I mean it," he says, first patting him between the legs where his pants are stretched over his growing cock, then laying a hand against the side of his face, cupping his jaw with affection. "This is okay. This is pack bonding. I know you haven't been with us that long, but... Trust me. I wouldn't put you in a position that would end in you being hurt. Least of all by Seunghyun. As our omega, I have a duty to look out for you." Leaning in close, with a barely-there brush of his mouth over Seungri's parted lips Daesung murmurs, "Stick to the rules and he won't hurt you. I promise."

Seungri being the omega of their small pack, the lowest ranked wolf, Daesung could mount him whether Seungri wants it or not, but he refrains from those kinds of  displays of dominance. Daesung has never treated their youngest as anything below himself, his nature too kind, too considerate, too inclusive to belittle him like that. To Seunghyun and the other two their attentions are simply acts of putting a pup in his place, the occasional snap of teeth and swipe of claws a necessary punishment when he steps out of line. Daesung finds the violence cruel and unnecessary.

Well... mostly unnecessary. As a former alpha of his own small pack, made up mostly of blood relatives, Seungri can be a handful.

"Okay," Seungri says with a trust that warms Daesung's heart. Then a throb of arousal pulsing through him reminds him quite abruptly why he and Seungri had come out here in the first place. Why he had wanted a few moments' privacy from the others, a private escape from their appointed guardian, Youngbae.

"Can I?" He tugs on the waistband of Seungri's pants, requesting permission before swooping in because, well, that is simply how Daesung operates. Unlike other wolves he knows, Daesung rarely takes without asking.

Seungri flashes him a devilish grin, his dark eyes filling with mirth and mischief. Daesung has only a moment to think, _ah_ , _this_ is the Seungri he know and loves, and then Seungri lunges at him.

Their mouths meet so suddenly that their teeth clack together painfully. Daesung jerks back and grabs Seungri's head to steady him, not taking control of the kiss but helping to guide it. Seungri adjusts readily when Daesung realigns their mouths for a better fit. As his hands return to the fly of Seungri's jeans, intent on claiming his prize, Seungri's attention wanders away from his plush lips and takes an interest in the line of his neck, kissing and licking and sucking at the skin there like he intends to devour it.

Daesung is familiar with this, the impression of being treated like an exceptional cut of meat. He tilts his chin up and his eyes go half-lidded as he blanks out under the worship of lips and tongue... and as such, he belatedly realizes that Seungri lingers too long on one spot, registering too late the familiar nip of teeth and focused suction of lips over one tiny patch of skin on his neck. He lifts a hand against Seungri's head and pushes him away quickly.

" _No marks_ ," he says in a rush. "Sorry. Those are the rules. No mounting and no marks," Daesung warns Seungri for Seungri's safety... as well as for his own.

Daesung loves Seunghyun, even when he bites harder than he means to, digs his claws deeper than he realizes, draws more blood than he intends. He leaves numerous small scars in his wake, and most of them are intentional. Most of them.

Seunghyun would not intentionally harm him, not seriously, but sometimes he does not realize his own strength. And the sight of another wolf's mark on Daesung would surely set Seunghyun off, throw him into a fit of possessive rage that neither Seungri nor Daesung would likely emerge from unscathed.

"Oh," Seungri says. Daesung sees the moment understanding dawns in his eyes, and Seungri nods vigorously. "Yeah, of course." His eyes grow wide as they return to Daesung's neck, to the spot he'd been laving with attention.

"Oh shit, there's... sorry," he says, looking apologetic, but Daesung recognizes that tiny glimmer of pride in his eye, a look that says, _'Yeah, I did that.'_

He reaches up and rubs at the spot where the skin is a little tender, a little hot. "You marked me? Seriously?"

"It's really small. If that helps."

"I _just told you_ \--"

"I know, I know! I didn't mean to," his lips twist up in a pout and despite everything-- his annoyance, his admittedly fond exasperation-- Daesung just wants to kiss him again. "Am I in trouble?" Seungri asks. Then he pauses, thinks about what he just said. "Are _you_ in trouble?"

Daesung sighs in defeat. "No. It's okay," he says automatically. He can't see it, can't see the mark Seungri made. It's probably nothing, he tells himself, and his compassionate nature has him defaulting to reassuring Seungri. Seungri who probably needs little reassurance, who wears a look that's far more smug than he has any right to be after what he just did, the little shit.

Daesung is going to wipe that look right off his face in no time at all.

"Now, if you don't mind," he says, guiding Seungri back against the tree, crowding him against it and hoping for one cruel moment that the rough bark is digging uncomfortably into his back, he wrenches the other's jeans open and slowly sinks to his knees. "Can we get back to the reason we came out here in the first place? Just stay still and let me do this, okay?"

"You're really hungry for it, huh?" Seungri says it with a lecherous grin that both delights Daesung and also makes him want to roll his eyes _so hard_ at his younger, oft-misbehaving packmate.

"Yes, I am."

"Can't wait until Seunghyun gets back from patrol?"

"Oh my god, Seungri, shut up." And with that he sets about making Seungri squirm. As Daesung works over his cock, the solid feel and salty taste of him on his tongue satisfying his more carnal desires, he lets Seungri dig hands into his hair, lets him pull and tug his head this way and that for a while until it finally gets to be too much. He lays on a hand on Seungri's exposed belly, presses his claws to the lightly defined muscles of his abdomen in warning. Seungri seems to get the hint and relocates his wandering hands to the trunk of the tree behind him, his own claws raking through the rough bark while Daesung bobs his head up and down the length of Seungri's weeping cock.

When he can sense that Seungri is good and lost, his eyes closed and mouth gone slack with pleasure, Daesung lifts off his spit-slick cock for just a moment to say, "You're up next, you know."

"Huh?" Seungri says, dazed. His eyes are half-lidded as he looks down at Daesung, utterly blissed-out. "Can't I just use my hand?" Daesung pinches him, and he jumps. "Ow! Okay, okay, whatever want!"

It's a bit of a challenge to grin around his mouthful, but Daesung manages it.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Later that night Seunghyun returns to them. Over the next several days, when Daesung passes Seungri as he moves about the house, he puts a hand over the fresh marks on his neck, the angry, claiming imprints of teeth beneath his ear, behind the hinge of his jaw, along his hairline. They hurt, and he does not want Seungri to see them. His shaggy hair isn't quite long enough to cover them.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
It isn't long before Daesung begins to notice a pattern.

When they are together, Seungri develops a tendency to leave visible marks on him. Though he always backs off and apologizes profusely, affecting an attitude of surprise and dismay, Daesung thinks it happens too frequently to be purely accidental.

One day they pass each other in the kitchen. The house they've holed up in is small, little more than a glorified shack, the area that once functioned as a kitchen even smaller. Daesung is standing before the wash basin when Seungri squeezes past him. Normally he would think nothing of it, but the hands that land on his hips and the very deliberate press of Seungri's front to his ass, an unmistakable hardness against the center crease of his jeans, makes Daesung pause what he's doing, the wooden mug he was cleaning almost slipping from his hands.

Later, he catches and confronts him about it.

"Is this a game to you?" he asks a little more sharply than he intended, his own building frustration creeping into the question. Seungri just gives him a bewildered look, puts his hands up in a well-known gesture: 'Who, me?'

"I told you, you know the rules," Daesung says, "You keep this up and it isn't going to end well for either of us."

"Of course! Rules," Seungri says, smiling strangely around the word.

"Marking. Mounting," Daesung repeats for his benefit, though he knows Seungri knows this by heart already. "Even this... mock mounting. You're flirting with danger. Quit it."

"Ohh," Seungri purrs boldly. "That sounds promising. I didn't think you had it in you, Daesung."

"Seungri, _stop_ ," Daesung says, dead serious now. "I don't mean me, and you know it."

"So tell me, why do you keep walking around with your hand over your neck? Hiding the marks I leave on you?" The way he says it sounds too much like a challenge for Daesung to ignore, and he chooses not to fight the low growl that bubbles up in his throat, his lip curling. So much for being discreet.

"No, I'm trying to keep you from seeing the bigger marks Seunghyun makes to cover yours." Daesung glowers at him. "Whatever this thing is that you're doing, I don't think my poor neck can take much more of it," he says, smiling without humor. "Here." Glancing away, he brushes his hair aside to reveal the ugly bite marks, baring to Seungri the worst of them that haven't yet healed over.

Seungri stares... then looks like he gets it. _Finally_. "Oh, I-- I didn't think--"

"That's right, you didn't _think_." Daesung's voice drops, becoming low and quiet in a rare fashion, addressing Seungri privately. He doesn't want to reveal this but Seungri needs to understand, so he says, "You should know that when you use me to challenge him, you're not the only one who suffers."

Seungri looks like he doesn't know how to react, can't find the words. Then that lost look shifts into one of anger and a righteous indignation. "That's not right," he starts. Then, with conviction, "That's not right, you're his _mate_. He shouldn't hurt you like that."

Daesung does not actually mind Seunghyun marking him. He wears the bruises and bites like badges because he is proud to be bonded to this powerful wolf. What's more, the marks are a form of protection in their own right, a kind of message to other wolves that reads loud and clear, " _Private property_." Keep off, keep away, keep out.

Daesung sighs heavily. "Look, you just... I don't know what you're trying to do, but it needs to stop now. I don't know how much longer he's going to put up with it. Are you _trying_ to provoke him? If so, you have no idea what you're getting into."

As time goes on and Seungri's advances become bolder, Daesung fears that a day will come when Seunghyun will quit turning a blind eye to his insolence. They all love their youngest but eventually Seunghyun is going to cave to the need to put him in his place.

It could get ugly, and Daesung wants nothing to do with it, wants least of all to have played a part in it.

"This is about as much as he will do to me," Daesung says, fingers unconsciously rubbing at a sore spot behind his ear where Seunghyun had paid special attention just the night before. "But he could really hurt you. Seungri, I don't want you to get hurt."

Seungri looks away, his eyes going a little unfocused and distant like he's thinking hard about something. Daesung wishes he would just agree with him and move on, but that has never exactly been Seungri's method.

"It's like I said before..." Daesung starts quietly, taking in Seungri's crossed arms. He forces him to unfold his arms by taking his hand, giving it a friendly squeeze. He feels just a little awkward about it when Seungri refuses to meet his eye. "We're packmates. There's a lot you and I can do together, but... I'm mated, so there are some lines you shouldn't cross. And lately you've been stomping all over those lines." _And somehow I've been letting you get away with it_ , Daesung thinks sourly.

"Fiiiine," Seungri whines at him, and Daesung's lips quirk up in genuine amusement for the first time in this conversation. "Okay, I'm sorry, man. I guess I just haven't been taking it very seriously," he confesses. He gives a squeeze to the hand holding as he says, "I didn't think very much about how it might make things harder for you."

Daesung smiles at him warmly. "Good. And thank you. I'm glad we had this talk." Seungri looks sincere enough as Daesung pats him on the shoulder and leaves, but still an ill feeling hangs in the air... a slowly maturing sense of foreboding that refuses to die.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
He was right to worry.

  
He and Seungri are squeezed together on what passes for a couch, the two of them alone in the house that day, left to their own devices, grinding against each other fast and hard. Somehow still fully clothed, Daesung is on his back, Seungri moving over him, their hips and hard cocks beneath denim meeting and separating in a quick rhythm. Sparks of pleasure spur them on, the heat between them building and becoming so urgent and overwhelming that Daesung can barely catch his breath amid his growing excitement.

Seungri slides a hand under him and nudges at the small of his back, as if to flip him over, and with barely a thought, Daesung goes, rolling onto his front with practiced ease. The hand that had helped him turn becomes an arm around his hips, pulling him up and back until his ass is snug against Seungri's front; Seungri flattens himself against Daesung to rut against him from behind, the rolling of his hips gaining new purpose.

For a moment there is only pleasure, Daesung groaning at the new pressure over his cock and rolling his hips forward to meet it, until through the fog of arousal he realizes the full danger of the position they're in. Suddenly the feel of Seungri's hard cock stabbing against the seam of his pants, driving between his legs and occasionally striking the soft space behind his balls in a suggestion of more to come should they continue like this.

Were it not for the barrier of clothes between them, Seungri might be sunk balls-deep into him by now. The thought sends a thrill of panic racing through him, an awful feeling, followed by the impulse to whirl around and shove Seungri off the couch with all his strength for his brazenness.

Of course, it is at that very moment that Seunghyun walks through the door.

There's no time for Daesung to scramble up and away, not a second left to separate from Seungri before Seunghyun's sharp eyes fall on him, on his hands and knees in Seunghyun's favorite position.

In a flash Seunghyun has flown across the room at them. His eyes brim with murderous intent and Daesung cowers, ducking into the cushions... but it isn't Daesung he is after.

Daesung registers the weight behind him disappearing as a furious Seunghyun snaps up Seungri by the back of his neck and hauls him off the furniture. In the span of a breath they're struggling against each other across the living room, Seungri flailing under Seunghyun's crushing grip; in another, Seunghyun has him pinned to the wall, his hand over Seungri's throat-- grasping, squeezing, _choking_.

Seungri goes red in the face, clutching ineffectively at Seunghyun's vice-like grip bearing down on his airway; Daesung cries out in alarm at the sight, scared to death that Seunghyun is only moments away from strangling the life out of their pack's youngest member.

"You little _shit_ ," Seunghyun snarls, and Daesung is horrified at the way he slings Seungri around, yanking him off the wall and flinging him back against it _hard_ for emphasis. "This has gone on for too long. You don't know _your place_."

"Seunghyun, don't! Stop it!" Daesung cries hoarsely, scrambling off the couch and running at them with such haste that he trips over his own feet along the way. "Don't hurt him! _Please!_ " he begs his mate.

Seunghyun gives Daesung a cursory glance-- just a quick once-over, as if to see what damage Seungri has done, what marks or other evidence the young wolf has left on him _this time_ \-- before his wrath refocuses on Seungri, trapped and struggling desperately under his iron grip. He acts like he can't breath and Daesung panics in earnest. He wants to latch onto Seunghyun and pull him off but he is too intimidated to touch him, too petrified to physically intervene. An angry Seunghyun is an unpredictable Seunghyun, everyone in the pack knows this. This is why they don't fucking try to _fight_ him when he gets like this.

Seungri has been playing with fire-- Daesung has warned him of Seunghyun's terrible temper time and again-- and now is the moment where he gets _burned_. Daesung can't bear to watch it.

"You've challenged me for too long. I fought _so hard_ not to rise to the bait, for Daesung's sake." He shoots Daesung a meaningful look. "But you just don't fucking know when to quit, do you."

Fingers close around Seungri's throat, sharp claws beginning to elongate and pricking at the reddened skin. Seungri whimpers and Daesung's heart falls, helpless to stop it.

" _Please_ \--" Seungri chokes out; the hand at his throat lifts him onto his toes, cutting off the rest of his appeal.

"This is too much, Seunghyun," Daesung pleads with his irate lover. "Please, put him down!"

"I'll _put him down_ alright; I'll put him down for good," Seunghyun says ferociously, baring his teeth at the quivering boy before him.

"Seunghyun, it's harmless," Daesung says, doubting the words even as they leave his mouth. "It's just pack bonding. You know? It doesn't mean anyth-- _Please_ let him go, he can't _breathe_ , you'll kill him," he urges Seunghyun as he edges in close, one small, sliding step at a time bringing him nearer to Seunghyun's possessive fury. At such close range Daesung can feel the madness pouring off of him like a physical thing, and he can barely stand it.

"No. He's been challenging your position in the pack too, you know," he says, this time to Daesung. "Or have you not noticed?"

Daesung looks to Seungri, questioning; Seungri squeezes his eyes shut and dips his chin in a pained nod. Barely perceptible, but it's enough.

Daesung does not play these games of dominance. He isn't interested in power struggles, doesn't give a damn about about vying for control, thinks very little of lording his strength over others. He is content to take a backseat to those kind of politics, to let the others lead as they see fit. All he wants from his packmates is for them all to get along. Their camaraderie is crucial, cooperation their key to survival.

For this reason Daesung has always treated Seungri like an equal, never like he was something lesser than himself. He asserts his dominance over the younger wolf only when necessary.

Seungri though...

"He marks you. He makes as if to mount you. He leaves his scent all over you." Seunghyun growls at Seungri and shows him his teeth, long and deadly, upper and lower canines fully extended and ready to rend and tear on a moment's notice. Seungri trembles under him, suitably cowed, hands still desperately plucking at Seunghyun's unyielding grip on his abused neck.

"I'm sorry! I... I let it go too far," Daesung says quickly, eyes flitting back and forth between them nervously.

Seunghyun ignores him and continues, "If I wasn't around he'd have fucked you by now. Would have knotted you too, and you know damn well he'd make sure everyone knew it. Who would be omega then? You little _fuck_." He roars, shaking Seungri again. "Trying to rise to power, hoping to work your way up the ranks with that puny, little cock of yours. You picked the wrong wolf to fuck with."

Daesung cannot believe the terrible things Seunghyun is saying to Seungri, to _one of their own_.

With the last of his courage Daesung lays a hand on his mate's arm, letting it settle in the crook of his elbow.

"I know pack bonding. This isn't that," Seunghyun says, turning to Daesung, his blazing ire seeming to cool at the touch of his hand, to Daesung's immense relief. "You told me that you had laid down rules; Seungri needs to learn to _follow the fucking rules_. This is me teaching him."

" _I'm sorry_ ," Seungri chokes out with what little air he has in him.

Seunghyun glares at him and Daesung says softly, "I think he's learned his lesson." A beat of silence, then, " _Please_ , Seunghyun."

At last Seunghyun relaxes his grip, and immediately Seungri doubles over, sucking in great gulps of air; his obvious relief sends an arrow of guilt through Daesung, piercing him right in the gut.

And while Seungri remembers what it means to breathe, Seunghyun's hand on his throat curving around and clamping down instead-- again-- on the back of his neck, fingers digging into the tendons that slope into his skull. The hold looks painful to Daesung, not like the way Seunghyun so often takes _him_ by the scruff, solidly, securely, but never with the intent to do real harm. Held by the scruff like so, Seungri drops his head low and assumes a submissive posture, his tail curled so tightly between his legs that more of it is in front of him than behind, properly subdued by the more than sufficient display of strength and power. Daesung's heart goes out to him.

"That's right," Seunghyun says to the back of his head. "You were never actually going to fight me. Good for you. There is hope for you yet." With that he shoves Seungri away.

Seungri retreats quickly without another look back, a hand rubbing furiously at his neck where Seunghyun's fingers-- and the tips of his claws-- have left an angry-looking ring of reddened skin. It won't be long before their absent packmates, Jiyong and Youngbae, learn what happened here.

Seunghyun had _mauled_ Seungri's pride. But at least he hadn't mauled Seungri. He will recover with time.

Seunghyun watches him go, then sighs heavily and opens his arms. "Daesung... Come here," he beckons, and Daesung does, walking readily into his embrace.

"You know he had that coming," Seunghyun says once he is securely in the circle of his arms.

"I tried to warn him," Daesung laments, pressing his face to Seunghyun's shoulder, breathing in the heady scent of his heat and sweat in the aftermath of his outburst. "I thought he would come around. I've never had this problem with the others."

But then, Jiyong and Youngbae are already over him in terms of status, always have been; and both have always respected his and Seunghyun's boundaries. Seungri's continual testing of his boundaries had baffled him. He wonders, was he wrong to keep it up?

"He'll be fine. Seungri is tougher than you might think; he doesn't to be coddled," Seunghyun replies, his demeanor softening as he holds him. His hand runs up into Daesung's hair, blunt nails-- deadly claws now sheathed-- scratching at his scalp in the most amazing way, and if Daesung could purr, that's exactly what he would be doing right now. "One way or another, he gets himself into trouble, you know that."

"You make him sound like some kind of delinquent."

"Given his history as an alpha, Jiyong and I have been expecting something like this from him for a long time. It was going to happen sooner or later."

"Hmm. Uprising," Daesung says, the hand in his hair calming him far more quickly than he had thought possible. That is, until it curls into a fist and tugs, lightly to start with but bearing a promise of pain.

"Who's next? You?"

"God, no," Daesung says, wincing. Seunghyun releases him and he huffs out a laugh against the other's collarbone. "No need to worry about that. I'm happy right where I am... Just like this."

Would you be happier if we moved to the bedroom?"

Daesung laughs. "You're so..."

"I have to get his scent off you," Seunghyun complains. The hand in his hair leaves and find the front of Daesung's pants, cupping him between the legs, the action full of promise... this time a promise of pleasure. "And I want to finish what he started."

All thoughts of Seungri flee his mind as the wolf before him, his mate, as is usual becomes the only thing that matters in his world.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
They haven't always been like this.

Vibrantly clear in Seunghyun's memory is the day he had discovered Daesung, the day he inadvertently stumbled upon him and stole him away from his then-current pack. At the time, along with Jiyong and Youngbae, he was in the middle of a raid on a rival pack's territory-- the three of them were primarily out to stir up trouble and aggravate their opponents, as a young pack is wont to do. Those were better years, when times were not so hard.

Somewhere along the way Seunghyun had found himself deeper in their territory than he had intended; somewhere he must have made a wrong turn, or kept going straight for too long, ventured too far. Suddenly he rounded a corner and found himself face-to-face with another young wolf, his face and his scent unfamiliar... He didn't know this one.

 _Shit_ , Seunghyun thought, his surprised expression mirrored in the other boy's eyes. Surely he couldn't fight this one. What Seunghyun had over the boy in height he clearly lacked in muscle. The boy looked fit, perfectly toned; the strength in his arms alone evident at a glance. They gazes met and Seunghyun thought his sharp, narrow eyes looked like they belonged to a skilled fighter, a ruthless opponent he might be unable to overcome.

In his panic Seunghyun had frozen, unmoving for only a moment. Then his combat instinct kicked in and he shifted into a fighting stance, ready to defend himself against whatever muscle this wolf might throw at him. Seunghyun wasn't muscled, but he was strong. He was _fast_. He was ready.

But the fight he expected never came.

To Seunghyun's complete shock and surprise, the boy turned tail and and fled, leaving Seunghyun in a stunned silence in his wake. He _ran?_

Seunghyun had less than a moment to wonder about it before the chase instinct took over, sudden and all-encompassing, sending him sprinting after the boy who had fled. The takedown was swift, Seunghyun's long legs giving him an edge and carrying him the distance considerably faster than his target. With long strides and great speed he had closed the gap between them handily and, with a daring leap, had tackled the other to the ground.

They hit the dirt hard, Seunghyun remaining on top. Immediately, the boy tried to twist onto his side, his arms tucking in and legs coming up to protect his vulnerable belly, but Seunghyun would have none of it. With the full force of his own weight behind the move, he rolled the boy back onto his front and covered his body with his own, pressing his body fully against the struggling figure beneath him from chest to groin and tangling the boy's kicking legs in his own, trapping them. One hand flew up and grabbed the boy by the scruff of the neck, Seunghyun's short but sharp nails leaving shallow cuts in his skin. He pushed the boy's face into the dirt and the other coughed and spluttered against the grass and sand under him.

Trapped beneath Seunghyun, the boy had struggled, yowling and bucking under him like some wild thing. Seunghyun had him pinned, his front to the boy's back, his groin to the boy's ass, and the harder the boy fought him, bucking and twisting against him with such delicious _friction_ , the harder Seunghyun became.

Suddenly, his next course of action in this position was clear.

Grinding the boy's face into the ground again for good measure, Seunghyun reached down and hastily undid the front of his own pants, pulled out his cock which was rapidly filling with blood, thickening in preparation for the task to come. This was the law of the land out here, the usual way of things. Kill, or be killed. Claim, or be claimed.

Fuck, or be fucked.

"Fucking _hold still_ ," Seunghyun had hissed to the boy under him, his effort to keep the boy subdued while yanking his pants down to mid-thigh leaving him sweating with exertion. "You should have known this would happen when you turned and ran. You should have stayed and fought. What kind of wolf are you, anyway?" As if to answer, the boy craned his head around to eye Seunghyun atop him, the rough dirt scraping the side of his face.

"Please don't, _please_ ," he had whimpered, eyes wide with fright like he was moments away not from a solid fuck but from murder. "You can't, I'll-- I'll _die_."

Seunghyun almost laughed at that. "You won't fucking die," he said brusquely and moved into position, aligning their hips. In reply the boy had made a high, pained sound, clenching eyes shut like he couldn't bear to watch what was about to happen to him.

"You don't understand, _they'll kill me_ , oh god," he begged, his voice dropping into a terror-stricken whisper. " _Please_ , just let me go. Please!"

Seunghyun gritted his teeth. "You'll be fine," he said. Despite the claim Seunghyun prepared to lay on the boy, his pack would surely not kill him for it. Shun him? Sure. Outright reject him? Possibly. Either way, he would survive. To say otherwise was ridiculous. Probably.

Honestly, it really wasn't any of Seunghyun's concern, especially not then, in that very moment, even as the boy sobbed in fear as he grabbed his tail and pulled it roughly aside. "Now be quiet, don't make that fucking _sound_ , just-- hold still-- oh, _fuck_ ," Seunghyun breathed, the head of his erect cock sliding sweetly between the boy's cheeks. The head bumped against the boy's hole and the boy flinched hard, his whole body shrinking away from Seunghyun with a jolt-- but pinned as he was, he could not go far.

Then the most peculiar thing happened. The boy lifted his own hips, ass in the air, tail raised like a flag, practically presenting himself to Seunghyun. Seunghyun growled, his lust inflamed by the act of submission, and collided with the boy, flattening himself against his back and erasing the space between them entirely.

It was clumsy-- without a line of sight his first attempts missed, his cock sliding between his cheeks ineffectively and hitting the boy's perineum, going everywhere but where he wanted it-- but a few jabs of his hips later Seunghyun had found his way in, his cock pushing past the tight ring of muscle and opening the other wolf up from the inside with the force of his claim. At the intrusion, the boy had cried out and thrown his head back, nearly fracturing Seunghyun's nose in the process; in an effort to save his face from further injury, Seunghyun used the hand still on the boy's neck to shove him back down hard, beginning to move in earnest.

Nothing about their coupling was gentle. This was Seunghyun subduing a member of his rival pack, conquering another wolf, overtaking him in a way that all other wolves would recognize. This was the simplest, purest act of his kind-- establishing dominance with everything nature has given him-- tooth and claw and cock. The boy should have known this; he _must_ have known this. As easy as he was to catch, as little fight as he had given, Seunghyun is sure he had been on this end of another wolf's cock more than once before.

With that thought Seunghyun had rutted against him, plunged into him, bearing him into the hard ground, stabbing his cock in and out of the boy beneath him with abandon like the animal he was. And at some point he registered that the other wolf had ceased his struggles, his resistance fading away under the assault. He had dug his clawed fingers into the dirt to hold himself in place as Seunghyun drove into him again and again, flexed his strong arms to push back _against_ Seunghyun, lunging backward onto his impaling cock and into the punishing force of Seunghyun's hips.

"Fuck-- _yes_ \--" Seunghyun had groaned at the same time as the boy wailed in what sounded like shocked pleasure, their bodies colliding just right, Seunghyun's cock hitting a spot inside the boy that seems to make him come alive.

He had wanted to do it again, had desired to draw that wondrous sound out of the boy one more time. But it had ended too quickly, the abruptness of his orgasm a bombshell that had taken him by surprise.

When Seunghyun's orgasm burst out of him, he had cleaved himself to the body under him, seating himself as deeply as he could inside the boy's impossibly tight heat and grabbing the skin on the back of his neck between his teeth, biting at him cruelly, possessively, without restraint. Under his rough treatment the boy only whimpered-- a quiet, pained sound-- but otherwise he remained still, breathing hard as Seunghyun's knot began to swell inside him.

The knot is a claiming mechanism-- to interrupt it had pained Seunghyun, but he had to go, could not linger there. He did what his wolf blood deemed necessary, surrendered to his most primal urges and had made this boy _his_. He had fucked this rival wolf undeniably into submission, had left his physical mark and his scent on him, his seed inside him, all of the above proof of his claim.

The boy and the rest of his pack would know it and would not soon forget this act of Seunghyun's dominance.

Seunghyun himself was only just beginning to catch his breath, allowing his body to finish the job, when the faint sound of voices approaching, the noisy sound of feet slapping against the packed earth growing steadily nearer.

Ah, they had finally found him.

"Looks like your pack is coming for you," he said, rising up enough to take a good, long look at the body under him, so obediently silent and still. With a sharp-toothed grin, he bent down to sigh into his ear, "They'll know you're mine now." At his declaration the boy's hands curled, clawed fingers burrowing into the trails had had scraped into the dirt while Seunghyun had fucked him hard.

It had hurt Seunghyun to pull out, but he guessed it hurt the boy more if his gasp of pain was any indication, the knot at the base of his cock catching on the rim of his hole on the way out with a wet, sucking sound. Free to move at last, had curled into himself, his knees and elbows tucking up over his belly, dark, shaggy hair falling across his face, unable to hide his discomfort. Seunghyun could see fresh cuts on his lower lip where his own sharp canines had pierced the skin.

His lips looked like they would be soft. Seunghyun hadn't bothered to find out, and there was no time left to touch, to taste, to explore his prize.

Moving awkwardly, a little pained, his swiftly-fading knot and softening erection giving him some trouble, Seunghyun had leaped to his feet and retreated at last-- but not before pausing to give his conquest a final, curious look, his eyes sweeping over the dark figure balled up where he had left him on the ground.

As if sensing his gaze, those dark, slanted eyes rose to meet his, and something about the sight of him pulled at a vital place in Seunghyun. In this encounter he had come out on top, in every sense of the word, yet the sight of the other young wolf had left his core feeling bruised, inexplicably tender.

Shaking it off, Seunghyun had spun away and fled to the rejoin the company of his fledgling pack.

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

It's a good day, the five of them making the short trek together to the nearby river to enjoy the sun and the refreshing coolness of the water. Daesung has found a nice spot for sunning on a formation of large, flat rocks, a shirtless Youngbae sprawled out next to him. Jiyong and Seungri splash around in the water, joyfully entertaining each other, and Seungyhun is lurking somewhere nearby, Daesung expects.

The feel of the sun's rays on his face, the warmth of the rock under him, the light, pleasant breeze playing with his hair, sending strands of it tickling over his face... in all of it Daesung feels utterly content. He soaks in the abrupt sounds of water splashing, the bubbling of joyous laughter as Jiyong picks on Seungri with a special affection he reserves for their youngest member... These things bring a gentle smile to Daesung's face as he lies with his eyes closed to the sun, face upturned serenely to the vibrant blue sky.

Something tugs at his shirt. Daesung cracks open one eye to Youngbae grinning down at him with a playful expression, his fingers curled into the hem of his shirt.

"Why don't you take it off? The sun feels so much better on bare skin," he says, and he almost convinces Daesung. Almost.

"I don't want to," Daesung whines, matching his playful tone, and promptly rolls away onto his side.

The gentle tugging resumes, this time on the collar of Daesung's shirt. Daesung resolutely ignores him in favor of letting his eyes drift shut once again under the sun's warming caress. He just wants this one thing right now, _please_.

But it was not meant to be. Not a moment later another pair of feet comes scuffling across the rock's surface, approaching fast, and before Daesung can climb to his feet to flee, Seunghyun has already snatched a fistful of his top and, together with Youngbae, tears the shirt clean off Daesung's body. Daesung squawks in protest, and his two attackers only laugh at him, their tails swaying in amusement behind them, the tattered remains of Daesung's t-shirt dangling from loose fingers.

He thinks he should have seen that coming. Of course Youngbae's teasing had caught Seunghyun's eye; his mate rarely passes up an opportunity to pick on him, the big bully.

"This is why I wear the same thing almost every day," Daesung says with an exaggerated pout. "You two keep ripping up my shirts, soon I'll have nothing left!"

"You can wear something of mine," Seungyun offers, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

"I already do," he says back. It's true. He and Seunghyun swap clothes all the time. Whatever fits them both is fair game. In fact, they share so much of their clothing these days that Daesung isn't sure he even possesses anything of his own anymore.

"What I don't understand is why we have to wear shirts anyway," Youngbae says. "Or any clothes at all. We're not humans, we're _wolves_."

"Sorry, Youngbae. Guess not everyone is as free as you," Daesung teases, easing back down. He has to admit, the sun on his bare skin and the warm rock against his bare back _do_ feel exquisite.

"Guess not," Youngbae grumbles.

Propped up on his elbows with Seunghyun at his side-- now topless but hey, no big deal-- Daesung breathes in the clean air deeply. Beside him Seunghyun can't seem to get enough of feeling his exposed skin, his hand working circles over Daesung's shoulder and neck, not exactly massaging but just appreciating the feel of Daesung under his hand, warm and happy. Daesung hums in approval, enjoying the petting.

Unexpectedly, Seunghyun leans down and sucks a nipple into his mouth.

"Ah, Seunghyun," Daesung says, jumping in surprise. He buries a hand in Seunghyun's dark hair, not sure if he wants to push him away or pull him closer. It earns him a sharp bite, Seunghyun's teeth grazing the edge of his nipple where the skin is extra soft. "Ow! Seunghyun," he complains. There is just no winning against Seunghyun!

And so he remains there, resignedly still while his mate licks and sucks on his skin worshipfully, the small nub firming up under the constant laving of Seunghyun's tongue as he rolls it between his lips. Watching Seunghyun worship his body like this is pure and simple eroticism... Daesung's eyes fall closed and his breathing deepens again, this time in a concentrated effort to control his own rising interest.

Youngbae's gaze can be felt, his interest loud and clear; Daesung gives him a helpless look.

He really only wanted to spend a day outside in the sun with his packmates, just resting! Not putting on a show for them all.

A sharp pain has Daesung flinching hard and he hisses in pain. " _Ow!_ Seriously, do you always have to _bite?_ " he asks, rubbing gingerly at the red-tinged imprint Seunghyun's teeth have just left in his skin.

"Yes," Seunghyun says with a toothy grin, looking terrifyingly proud of himself. Daesung gives up and lets him do as he pleases.

At some point Seunghyun decides he has had enough of one nipple and switches over to the other; goosebumps flare up when a breeze rolls by and cools the saliva left damp on his skin.

A sudden shriek from the direction of the river grabs their attention, all three of them, Seunghyun's lips leaving his skin with a filthy, sucking sound. Seungri sits half-submerged, looking stunned. Meanwhile, Jiyong has clapped a hand to his own mouth and laughs, his shoulders bobbing up and down. It's clear Jiyong had pushed Seungri fully into the water. Probably had enough of Seungri's posturing and peacocking, Daesung guesses. He knows the feeling.

Of course, there is one among them who cannot resist the lure of bullying their youngest, especially when he is already down; most of them can't, given the chance. Seunghyun shoots Daesung a dangerous look and, with a quick peck to his lips, tears off to join in on the fun, his tail wagging wildly behind him as he plunges into the water. Things have improved between him and Seungri since Seunghyun had put him back in his place.

After all, discipline maintains order. Daesung watches him go, rubbing idly at his abused flesh.

"Must be hard," Youngbae says a moment later, sounding thoughtful.

"He's a handful, yeah." He says it with a kind of fond exasperation.

"He was a bit wilder before you came along," Youngbae says with a thoughtful expression, as if reminiscing. Daesung eyes him sideways and he rushes to explain. "No, really. I know it's probably hard to imagine, but Seunghyun has always been kind of a wildcard. Something about you seems to calm him down."

"Good to know," Daesung says. "Wait, is that my role in the pack, then? Seunghyun's chew toy?"

"A noble role," Youngbae states wisely, affecting a mock serious tone. Daesung snorts out a laugh and lowers himself back to the warm rock he had _so_ been enjoying before Seunghyun had come along like the overgrown pup he is and decided to gnaw on him for a bit.

"Although by the way he was sucking on your tits like he thought he'd find milk, I'd say nurse wolf," Youngbae adds. Daesung slugs him in the arm for that.

"Really though," Youngbae says after a short silence. "Thanks for, I don't know, taking one for the team?"

Daesung smiles gently. "It's more than that." It is far more than just that. These days he certainly needs Seunghyun... But Seunghyun needs him just as much, perhaps more. No one in the pack has half Daesung's patience for Seunghyun's antics, nor can they handle his rough, often reckless exuberance.

Youngbae eyes his chest like he wants to touch and Daesung says, "What, you too?"

"It's just..." Youngbae trails off. He leans over and gently feels over Daesung, the tip of a finger tracing the cut of teeth over the edge of one nipple. The touch, though careful, still smarts. "Looks painful," he finally says.

When Seunghyun gets excited he gets violent. Daesung can take it. He is tougher than the others give him credit for.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it," Daesung says, dismissing him. Youngbae is always trying to take care of them all. He is one of the most lethal wolves Daesung has ever met, yet he cares so deeply for the well-being of his packmates, always checking up on them in the aftermath of territorial disputes that leave them a little scuffed up. His unexpectedly nurturing nature makes him a great nurse when one of them comes back injured from a hunt or a patrol that has gone south-- cuts and bruises and even the occasional broken bone are an unfortunate yet commonplace side effect of such events. Every one of them has been there at some point.

He appreciates Youngbae's concern, but if Daesung were to let him inspect every bite, bruise, or claw mark Seunghyun leaves on him, Youngbae would be attending to him on a permanent, daily basis. He would never be able to get rid of him.

Besides, the deeper marks he leaves... Seunghyun likes it when they scar over. And sometimes, Daesung does too.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
"Feel anything?"

Daesung stands outside, gazing up into the night sky at a brilliant full moon, when Jiyong comes upon him. The corners of his lips quirk up in greeting as Jiyong approaches, his lithe form almost ethereal in the moonlight.

"No," Daesung says in a quiet voice. It's been too long since their kind felt the moon's pull. The night sky's silent sentinel has never had an effect on Daesung beyond captivating him with its unearthly beauty. "It's just beautiful. That's enough for me."

At his side Jiyong leans on him for support, an arm slung around Daesung's neck and his chin resting on Daesung's shoulder, like he is all of a sudden too weary to hold his own weight any longer. It's a sweetly deceptive posture that he loves to adopt when he catches Daesung standing with both feet firmly planted on the ground, shoulder width apart, as he is now.

"Hmm," Jiyong hums in thought. "They say that in the cities you can't see the moon, not like this. Some places you can't see the stars at all." Daesung peeks at him curiously and he explains, "All the smoke and light, and buildings everywhere... But it's nice out here, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

The arm around his neck tightens and Jiyong rubs at his chest somewhat absentmindedly, curious fingers stroking and petting him. Behind them, his tail lazily bumps against his own, and Daesung feels perfectly at ease, loved and protected.

Jiyong is often handsy with him. They all are with each other; touch is an important aspect of their pack bonding, the frequent contact reinforcing their familial bonds. They lay hands on each other, lean on one another, sleep sprawled out across each other's bodies in the sweltering heat of summer and tucked up close to each other in the frigid winter.

And sometimes, when they hunger for each other, they do a lot more than that.

Jiyong is hungry tonight.

Daesung is also hungry, but his is a simpler hunger. They haven't caught much of anything lately. They haven't _seen_ much of anything lately beyond the occasional small critter that Daesung is reluctant to sink his teeth into, other tiny carnivores that tend to fight back with teeth and claws of their own and taste foul besides.

Daesung always feels a little hungry these days, but he dares not speak a word of it to Jiyong. Here under the light of the moon, and under the attention of his alpha, his touches growing bolder and more insistent by the minute, he can forget the oft-present twinges of an empty stomach.

Jiyong ducks under his chin and kisses his neck, the press of lips right over his adam's apple kindling his lust, like a breath of air over the embers of a low burning fire. Daesung tilts his chin up, granting his alpha better access.

"Come to bed with me," Jiyong purrs, working his way up under Daesung's jaw. The edges of his teeth graze the skin lightly, teasing, as always well within control of himself.

Daesung hesitates, a split second of indecision. He swallows and says, "Seunghyun--"

"He's invited too," Jiyong murmurs against the bobbing of his throat. "I just wanna have you for a little while. But Seunghyun is more than welcome to join us if it makes you feel any better."

"Okay," Daesung agrees, and he thrills at how the lips against his skin curve into a smile.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
After his first encounter with Daesung, Seunghyun had not expected to see him again.

The next time Seunghyun had seen boy whose name he had not yet learned, he was crouched by the edge of a pond on a parcel of land along the outskirts of his pack's territory. Territory that they guarded fiercely. Trespassing was not to be tolerated.

There was something curious about the way the boy sat, perched on a rock, his knees pulled up to his chest. It was in the way he stared into the water so intently, as if hoping he might see some creature foolish enough to swim in range, but with the the air of a person who knows he won't be able to catch it anyway. The boy was practically swimming in the oversized coat he wore, drowning in the excess of fabric. It made him look younger than before, sweeter... endearing somehow.

Seunghyun wanted to push him into the water.

So intent on whatever he saw beneath the surface, he didn't seem to notice as Seunghyun began his approach. Seunghyun had almost blown his cover when he had stepped on a twig, the brittle stick snapping under his foot. The boy whipped around, searching for the source of the sound, but Seunghyun was too practiced at blending in, camouflaging himself and stalking him from downwind. Once he was close enough to the boy he had lunged forward and, with both palms flat against the other's back, he shoved him into the pond.

The act brought him so much childish glee, and he grinned broadly at the sight of the other wolf flailing in the murky pondwater, arms and legs going in every direction in a panic. It could not have been more than waist deep, but he acted like he was drowning in it.

Finally taking pity on him, Seunghyun had reached in and hauled him out by the collar of his jacket, coughing and spluttering. He dropped him in the grass. When he turned his frightened face up to Seunghyun's, it had taken all Seunghyun's willpower to force the mad grin off his face and morph it into a sterner expression.

"Guess whose land you're on," he said. The boy only stared up at him, lost. He really had no clue. "The fish in that pond? They're _mine_. Trespassing is not allowed."

"Your land?" the boy said, still on the ground and wiping at his face.

"My pack's land. Either way, you weren't invited." Seunghyun lowered himself to the boy's level, sitting back on his heels in much the same way the boy had been sitting earlier while gazing longingly into the water of the pond as if trying to discern its secrets. "So what am I to do with you?"

"Whatever you want, I guess," the boy said, suddenly gloomy.

Looking around them for other signs of life he might need to be concerned about, Seunghyun asked, "Where's the rest of your pack?"

"They're not--" the boy started, then seemed to think better of it. "They're around here somewhere. Not far. I just wandered off a little. They'll be here any minute."

"I'm sure they will be." Seunghyun squinted at him, sizing up the truth of his statement... or the lack of it. "You're alone, aren't you."

A breeze rolled past them and the boy shivered in the cool air. His coat must have been so heavy, weighted down with water from the pond, but he had not moved to take it off. He also had not answered Seunghyun's question.

That was fine by Seunghyun. His silence was answer enough.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," he said. "So why did they leave you?"

"How do you know _I_ didn't leave _them?_ "

"You really don't seem the type."

"...Do you even remember me?" the boy asked after a moment, a note of hurt appearing in his voice, to Seunghyun's puzzlement.

"Yes, I remember you." He was surprised he did, really. "I see ' _they_ ' didn't kill you as you said they would. You look pretty alive to me." ' _They_ ' being his packmates, in all likelihood. He remembered Daesung underneath him, pleading with him to let him go, insisting that great harm would come to him at the hands of his packmates if Seunghyun carried through with claiming him... which he had done with great enthusiasm.

"They couldn't get your scent off me," Daesung said very quietly, picking nervously at the wet sleeves of his jacket. "They tried. I don't know what it is about you but it fucking stuck," he said, his sulking giving way to a little anger at last.

Seunghyun thought the boy aimed to make him to feel bad about what he had done, but really all he felt was proud. They couldn't erase his scent? Very interesting.

"So they kicked you out." Dumped him like trash because Seunghyun, a rival wolf, had fucked him and marked him. Had he claimed him? He had knotted him, hadn't he? He wasn't sure he had meant to. At the time he had thought that might happen, but he hadn't found it in himself to care. "And here you are now, trespassing on someone else's land, fishing out of their pond, stealing their food."

No reply. The boy had fallen silent again.

"What's your name, anyway?" Seunghyun asked, rising smoothly to his feet and making his way leisurely to the pond's edge, leaving the drenched boy where he sat in the grass.

"Daesung," the boy answered, short and sweet.

"Well, Daesung," Seunghyun said, pausing to swipe a fish out of the water, his clawed hand darting in and snatching it up with practiced ease. "Why don't you come back with me?"

"What? Why?"

"Because my packmates would love to eat you," Seunghyun replied. Then, "I mean, _meet_ you," he corrected, smirking  dangerously.

" _Whatever_. Wolves don't eat other wolves," Daesung said defiantly, but the tremble in his voice gave away his lingering fear, his inkling of belief in Seunghyun's lies.

"Not in times of plenty, no," Seunghyun mused. He really didn't know why had was offering to take this strange wolf back home with him, back to their den. Jiyong and Youngbae would probably not be pleased with him. They really might try to eat him.

Well, no, they wouldn't. But they might rough him up a little, just for fun.

"I would never," Daesung says with a strong conviction.

"Whatever. Here," Seunghyun said simply, dropping the fish in Daesung's lap, and the boy jumped a foot in the air, the animal's silvery body flopping about wildly. It sent him shuffling back like the fish might bite him. "Seriously?" Seunghyun exclaimed, watching in equal parts amusement and disapproval. What a strange wolf this one was.

" _Ah!_ " Daesung cried, reaching out and grabbing the fish tightly with both hands. Though he held it as far away from him as his arms would allow, watching it with wide eyes as its writhing slowed, the motion of its gills slowing as it ceased gasping for air, gradually drowning in all the oxygen above the surface. When the fish finally fell still, Daesung stared at it, looking shaken.

For fuck's sake, it was a damn _fish_. What was so scary about it?

"Now eat it," Seunghyun orders him. "What's your problem? It won't fight you anymore if that's what you're worried about." He had no idea why he had even felt wanted to provide for this wolf, didn't understand why he _needed_ to see him take a bite of what he was given.

To Seunghyun, who had so few precious people in his life and none remotely like this one, it was the strangest feeling.

So Daesung did; he ate. And once he had started on his meal there was no stopping him as he devoured the fish, scales and all, like he was ravenous and had not eaten in days. Which, given what Seunghyun had just learned about him, he probably hadn't.

Hunger is no fun. Seunghyun had been there before and he never wanted to go back.

"Now come on," Seunghyun said, bending down and hauling Daesung forcibly to his feet, again by the collar of his coat. He made for quite the sad sight, soaked to the bone and shivering in the morning's brisk air, but at least he had something in his stomach and he seemed calmer because of it. "Time to meet the pack."

Daesung went with him willingly enough. In truth, Seunghyun wasn't overly surprised by his compliance. He somehow doubted the boy would survive for very long on his own out here. Most lone wolves didn't, not even the survivalist type.

Still, he could have just left him there, let him catch his own fish. Send him stumbling around blindly across other territorial lines. He'd have been dead in no time at all.

Seunghyun could not for the life of him put his finger on what it was about this one. Their first meeting wasn't especially memorable, a run-of-the-mill fuck in place of a fight. Not unusual for their type. Then Seunghyun had found him again today; he had snuck up behind him and pushed him into the cold water. That felt good. Then he had caught and fed him a fish, and somehow... that felt better.

With a hand clamped tightly on the damp fabric of his overly large jacket, Seunghyun led Daesung to a place he called home and decided not to think on his predicament any further.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Daesung wakes to a very obvious, very uncomfortable need between his legs, a heaviness at the apex of his thighs. He does not need the touch of his hand to know that he is fully erect, something in sleep inspiring him to complete hardness, desire spilling outside the bounds of dreams. He feels where the head of his cock peeks out over the tops of his shorts, a breath of cool air over the tip as he squirms on his and Seunghyun's shared mattress raising goosebumps all across his skin.

He rolls over, colliding with Seunghyun who barely twitches at his familiar weight. Moving closer, Daesung noses into his neck, nuzzling the hair behind his ear where his scent is warm and strong. As he breathes his mate's scent in deeply his cock tightens with an urgent _need_ to rut against something, something warm and yielding... So he pushes his shorts down and off and lines up his hips against his sleeping lover's body, throwing a leg over Seunghyun's, and begins grinding with purpose against him.

They've woken each other this way many times. It's a dance so familiar to Daesung he could do it in his sleep. Sometimes he does.

Seunghyun wakes in stages, his body stirring and responding to Daesung's touch before his mind has fully caught up. One hand goes to Daesung's rolling hips, the other finds its way to his neck, fingers curling lightly under it and brushing the short hairs at the base of his skull.

Suddenly, when the fingers against his skin tighten, blunt nails digging into his skin-- just this side of painful-- Daesung knows that Seunghyun has awoken.

"Seunghyun," he whispers, the name little more than a puff of fair against his lover's neck. Soon there is a twin hardness pressing against his own, Seunghyun's own interest evident as he turns to face him. Daesung grins against his neck and keeps moving, seeking out friction, shameless in his intent.

They don't speak. They don't need to. Words would only get in the way as they seek pleasure in each other's bodies, here in the dark, in the dead of night. It is simple, straightforward, sexual, their attraction.

Seunghyun grabs at Daesung crudely, his hand sliding from hip to lower back, crushing Daesung to him as they moving against each other in the dark. Where their stiff cocks first rub over each other with a delicious friction, soon they glide past each other with every rock of the hips as the pre-come leaking from their tips smears off and smooths the way. Daesung realizes, arching against his lover, his mate, in the stillness of deep night, the quiet broken only by their ragged breaths, their sounds of mutual pleasure hushed so as not to wake the others sleeping nearby...

It is nights like these that Daesung lives for.

Before long Seunghyun has covered his mouth with his own, sucking and pulling on his plump lower lip, tongue licking into him aggressively. Daesung opens up and gives him full access, dazed by the action below where the heat between them is spiraling out of control. It is _stifling_ , their surging bodies throwing off great quantities of heat where their sexes crash against each other over and over again, like striking matches to create a flame. Daesung wants to throw the blanket off, expose their heated skin to the cool night air, but under assault at both ends he is powerless to break away, to do anything but ride out what he had started.

One shortly after the other they achieve their release, painting each other with their come, most of Seunghyun's landing on Daesung's toned belly. Seunghyun thrusts against him a few final times, smearing the sticky fluid across Daesung's skin like he is trying to rub it into his skin, staining him, inking him permanently with his very essence.

Then Daesung throws his head back and Seunghyun _does_ mark him, lips going straight to a soft place under his jaw and sucking roughly, greedily, the edges of his teeth coming into play at last. Daesung goes still for him, offering his body up wholly and eagerly. His lips part, mouth falling open as his lover works his way down the line of his throat in a voraciously, like he is merely one vicious bite away from consuming him.

The thought makes him shiver in nervous excitement.

Daesung sometimes thinks that with the right push, if Seunghyun were to come unhinged, his need to possess Daesung overriding his desire to protect, he might _actually_ eat him up-- or parts of him, perhaps-- for little more than to prove a point.

When they finally come back to themselves, Daesung knows his neck must be a mess. With a strange satisfaction he feels the trail of bruises and bites Seunghyun has left from jaw to collarbone, the skin tender and sore when he turns his head upward to pant at the ceiling. Seunghyun, too, falls onto his back and catches his breath, the sounds of their slowing breaths fading in the darkness.

Feeling sated and pleased, Daesung is just beginning to doze off, the sweet song of sleep drawing him into its embrace... then Seunghyun touches him again, rough hands roaming over the tops of his thighs and groping at his sex, petting over his balls and coaxing his cock back to hardness in a determined fashion. Daesung grunts when the head of Seunghyun's reawakened cock pokes him in the side, leaving yet another wet smear of come on his skin.

In the pitch black he cannot see his mate, but he does not need to see him to share in his lust. He only needs to _feel_ him.

Two hands nudge him over onto his stomach with a kind of insistence Daesung has come to expect from Seunghyun, and Daesung knows that for the two of them, the night has only begun.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
This time Seunghyun makes the kill, bringing the animal down with a daring lunge and a well-placed bite to the neck where it meets the skull, a fatal snap of his jaws puncturing the deer's jugular vein and, with a sharp jerk, tearing the throat clean open. He strikes like this deer, a rare and most fortunate find in this time of scarcity, might be the last they'll ever get-- and it might be. To allow their first good meal in weeks to escape is simply not an option.

By the time the others catch up, he has the animal on the ground, deathly still, drawing breath no more.

Seunghyun knows he must look wild. Soaked in the creature's blood all down his front, his appearance reflects the killing machine he is at heart. When the others arrive their hungry eyes flit between him and the fresh carcass before him, warm in the setting sun and surely tempting.

But this has been _his_ kill. Though the chase had been a team effort, it was Seunghyun who delivered the killing blow, therefore his is the right to feed first. With his takedown he earned the honor of being the first to gorge himself on this creature's warm meat and muscle, to suck the rich blood straight from its veins, to savor this fine gift of nature.

Glancing over the starving faces of his packmates, Seunghyun's gaze settles firmly on one.

"Daesung." With a hand outstretched, he beckons his mate forward.

As one, everyone turns, and Daesung wilts under the weight of their combined scrutiny. Seunghyun understands the gravity of he's doing. He doesn't fucking _care_. It is his right to eat first, a right he is damn well going to share with his mate no matter what the others may think.

He wants to give Daesung the heart.

Clearly conflicted, Daesung totters back a step, away from the carnage, away from him. Refusing his offer, his gift. Seunghyun growls in warning. "Come here," he orders, his voice resonating with a note of authority. "You're eating with me."

Jiyong and Youngbae look outraged. By rights, after Seunghyun claims his first bites their long-established hierarchy dictates that they are next in line to feed. Without fail, Daesung eats after them, and Seungri last of all, though Daesung usually allows Seungri to dive in alongside him. He is too kind.

Seunghyun risks great offense by inviting Daesung to join him, and Daesung knows it.

"Seunghyun..." he says quietly, rounding his shoulders inward at the same time his drooping tail curls tightly between his legs, his eyes fixed on the grass at his feet. "I can't. You know I can't." Everything about his stance screams fear and reluctance.

"Yes, you can. Get over here!" Seunghyun barks at him, and the harsh sound at last spurs Daesung into action and he shuffles forward like a man taking himself to slaughter. As he creeps past the others, Jiyong-- sweet Jiyong, leader Jiyong, Jiyong whose stomach is just as empty as the rest of theirs, and who feels the bite of hunger just as keenly-- lurches at him and bares his teeth as if to punish him. Daesung reels back in terror; it sends Seunghyun's blood into a boil and he snaps back at Jiyong savagely, teeth still slick with deer's blood clacking together as he returns his leader's warning full force.

_Don't you dare._

Jiyong's eyes lock onto his, livid at the challenge to his authority, but Seunghyun stands his ground as Daesung scurries over to him quickly, utterly cowed, which only rankles Seunghyun further. Once within reach, Seunghyun darts out and catches him by the arm, dragging him to his side, where he is safe.

"Don't worry about them."

"This isn't right, this isn't how we do things," Daesung frets, so rattled he is almost shaking. "Let them go first."

" _You're_ going first," Seunghyun grabs him by the scruff and together they go to their knees. "Go on," He says, pushing Daesung down with a firm but careful pressure until his face is inches from the warm carcass, his trembling lips just brushing the ends of the animal's fur.

With one long claw Seunghyun splits the skin at the shoulder and peels the hide back, easing the way for his mate to feed.

"Oh," Daesung says softly, the maddening scent of blood re-alighting his gnawing hunger, the sight of so much unblemished meat too alluring to resist any further. When Seunghyun forces him down again he is helpless to do anything but give in.

Rising to his feet, Seunghyun stands watch over Daesung as he fills himself, his clawed hands coming to rest on the beast's side, curling and uncurling in the fur as he loses himself to the unrivaled pleasure of feeding. When his hair falls into the mess of blood and gore, he does not seem to notice or care, the bloodied strands sticking to his skin in places... only pushes his face deeper, harder into the bounty before him, his nose pressing into the shredded muscle and coming back red, bloodstained. Around a mouthful he lets escape a breathy, wanton moan, a private sound that Seunghyun knows is meant for his ears only.

Watching Daesung like this, Seunghyun nearly feels he could walk away from the scene right now, with nothing to show for his efforts but the dried blood on his face and an unsatisfied ache in his belly, and still he would be content only with knowing he had made this possible for Daesung, who, in his pressing need to feed, has all but forgotten the threat of his angry packmates.

Fasting is not meant for wolves. Famine looms as their greatest enemy.

Just beyond them Jiyong looks ready to pounce, as if he might fly forward at any moment and rain down on them a swift and terrible punishment for their insolence. Seunghyun knows that this must be stirring their alpha into a rage. Youngbae looks affronted, but not so murderous. His eyes on Seunghyun blaze with disapproval, but when they flicker to Daesung he seems to soften a fraction. Seungri stands by with a kind of dull resignation; as always he will be last to the table.

Seunghyun gives Daesung a minute before joining him, going slowly to his knees beside him. It's a bit of work to dig so deep so early on in the meal, but Seunghyun gets his hand inside and locates the heart-- the best part, rich in nutrients that they sorely lack these days. With a sharp tug he pulls it from the chest cavity, holding it up for Daesung, and they devour the precious organ together.

It isn't long before the others join him. Mealtime is normally a wild but joyous affair between them all, an act that brings the five of them together without fail. Today they feed in silence-- an oppressive silence borne of anger, fear, uncertainty. The atmosphere is an oppressive one, an unpleasant deviation from the norm, but even so, they they walk away from the meal with bellies full and hunger satisfied for the first time in a long time.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
The generous meal puts them all in a better mood, for a time. This is immediately evident to Seunghyun when he strolls outside one day in search of his favorite wolf. A belly full of choice meat has not only made him feel healthier and stronger than he has been of late, it has reawoken another appetite of his, one that requires Daesung's... participation.

When he stumbles upon Daesung, he finds him rolling in the grass like a cat flying high on a strong cut of catnip.

"What are you doing?" he asks, watching his mate in complete bewilderment.

"I'm bored," Daesung moans and rolls again, little blades of grass sticking to his hair and clothes and furred tail as he goes. Seunghyun blinks at him. It's... adorable. So adorable he could just _eat him up_. Maybe he will.

"So this was your next thought. 'I'm going to roll in the grass, sounds like great fun.' It doesn't take much to entertain you, does it?" Daesung sits up and grins brightly at him.

"I just feel really good. Better than I have in a long time."

"I did good, then?" Jiyong has not stopped glaring daggers at him every time they pass. But seeing Daesung right now, like this, playful like he hasn't been in longer than he cares to admit, Seunghyun knows whatever consequences come his way for his act of insubordination, it will all be worth it.

"You did so good," Daesung praises him, tail wagging merrily behind him, and Seunghyun grins back at him wickedly.

"Then will you do something good for me?"

"Oh?" Daesung's mouth hangs open a little and Seunghyun stares at his lips, for an uncertain moment reconsidering what it is he wants from him.

Well, why the fuck can't he have both? Daesung looks like he'll be willing enough. Seunghyun drops to his knees on the grass and reaches for the other wolf.

"Actually," he says, grabbing his mate by the thighs and tugging him closer. "There's something else I want to do for you. But it's also for me. Then you can do that 'something good' for me."

He knows he is talking in riddles, but Daesung's joy is infectious and he can't seem to control his own mirth bubbling up inside him.

"God, just spit it out, Seunghyun," Daesung teases, eyes crinkling up in humor. "You want me to blow you? Sure." And just like that, he reaches for the front of Seunghyun's pants, tongue peeking out from between pursed lips.

"No, stop, I'm gonna do you first," Seunghyun says quickly. He grabs Daesung's hands and pushes them away just as a voice floats over to them.

"Guys?"

Their heads snap up as one. Seungri stands there, eyeing them with interest. "Um. Hey. Can I join you?" His tail wags anxiously, his dark eyes expectant.

Seunghyun growls at him loudly, his tail rising behind him like a warning flag, and Seungri jumps, skittering backwards, his feet taking him back to the house seemingly without realizing. Then, when Daesung laughs, he snaps out of it, huffing and stomping off, the sound of his heavy steps trampling the grass growing fainter as he goes.

"Sorry, Seungri!" Daesung calls after him. When there is no reply he chides Seunghyun, "That wasn't nice."

"I don't feel like sharing right now," Seunghyun says, licking his lips, and Daesung only smiles at him.

"Well," He looks down with a hopeful expression. "What are you waiting for down there?"

Seunghyun grins and buries his face in Daesung's lap.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Of course, the happy aftermath of their bountiful hunt is short-lived. Such is the way of their world.

After another dry spell, Seunghyun comes in with a pair of rabbits in hand. They dangle from his hand by their hind legs, not a drop of blood on them. It's a clean kill when Seunghyun is able to scoop them up off the ground and snap their necks, no claws or teeth needed. The luck of the hunt had been his today.

He drops the rabbits on their lone table, the small, furred bodies landing with a soft sound. The plushness of their soft fur hides the meager amount of meat on their bones. It really isn't much-- it isn't nearly enough to feed them fully-- but it is all he has for now. He looks at Daesung, who is staring, transfixed, at the furry critters on the table.

Bringing his catch home without taking a bite out of them-- not even a tiny nibble-- had been torturous. He is so hungry he could scarf both rabbits down, bones and all... but preferably after stripping the skin off first. Fur sticks to the insides of his mouth and throat and is generally not pleasant nor practical to eat. Although, he is so desperate to eat that he almost wouldn't care, Seunghyun thinks pitifully.

And yet, the instinct to provide for his mate has once again proven stronger than his own crippling hunger. It compels him to offer the pair to Daesung first.

"Have you eaten?"

Daesung's eyes dart between him and the rabbits, eventually settling on the rabbits with a strange expression. "Yes."

"Oh?" Seunghyun says, surprised. "How?"

"Youngbae brought something in earlier."

"What did he get?" Seunghyun asks, genuinely curious. Their diet become more interesting by the day.

"...Just some birds. Crows."

Oh. Well then. "Filthy birds," Seunghyun says, snatching the rabbits up off the table and taking them further into the their sort-of kitchen to strip off their pelts. Crows are dirty birds, _scavengers_ , but at this point they are better than an empty stomach. Nothing their systems can't handle. "That couldn't have been enough," he wonders.

"It was. I'm really not very hungry." He says with a quiet calmness that convinces Seunghyun, who extends a claw and in one sure movement, expertly makes a clean slice up the first rabbit's underside, peeling the skin back at the edges.

"You sure?" Seunghyun holds up the other rabbit in offering. "One for me, one for you."

"Yes, really! They're all yours."

"Suit yourself," Seunghyun replies. It takes every ounce of his self control to resist chomping down on the little bit of meat already exposed and just work the skin off with his teeth as he eats, his mouth filling with saliva at the sight of it.

"I'm glad you got something good. Enjoy your catch," Daesung says with a smile as he passes by on his way out. "You might want to be quick about it though, because I think I hear Seungri coming."

At that Seunghyun shoves the rabbit against his face and just _goes for it_ , burying his face in the tender meat he had been denying himself for too long. Daesung laughs, something about the sound seeming a little off, but Seunghyun barely even hears it, too consumed by the act of sating his ravenous hunger to register much else.

When he looks up only minutes later, having finished his snack, Daesung is gone.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Daesung wakes to the feeling of his stomach trying to devour itself.

It _hurts, fuck_ , like a starved creature chewing and gnawing on its own flesh. He knows it's ridiculous but a small part of Daesung fears the organ might actually be turning itself inside out inside of him, the way it squeezes and pulls under his skin. He crawls out of bed, his feet hitting the floor hard as he slides off the mattress in a movement entirely without his usual grace or poise.

He is too damn hungry to care. He has to eat. Something. _Anything_.

He stumbles through the house, clutching at his front, fingers curling into the skin under his ribs. His ribs which grow more prominent by the day. He lets his claws out a little and the pain of their sharp ends pricking at his skin through his shirt helps to distract from the twisting and turning and, oh god, wrenching of his empty stomach, a void inside him he desperately needs to fill.

Before he knows it he is outside. He drops to all fours, panting, his hands fisting in the cool sand. If he can just find something small... a mouse or a lizard maybe. Even a quail, smaller than his hand, would be amazing. Do they still have quail out here? It's been so long since he last saw one...

Daesung is terrified of snakes-- he knows the awful things a rattler's venom can do to a wolf-- but he thinks he might just risk it if he spots one out here tonight.

It would be a faster death than the one he is currently suffering, this present famine taking its toll on him slowly but surely.

His gums itch as his canines descend just at the _thought_ of crunching into a small critter's bones. The imagined sensation of warm blood spilling over his tongue has saliva pooling around his teeth. Slowly, Daesung falls forward, whimpering quietly into the sand so as not to wake the sleepers on the other side of their shabby house's thin walls. Fantasizing only makes his hunger worsen.

The pair of rabbits Seunghyun had brought home earlier that day had looked and smelled incredible. In the face of his persistent hunger it had almost been too great a gift to turn down, too generous an offering to pass up. To give even one to Daesung would have truly been a sacrifice.

Seunghyun's drive to provide for him has always pleased him, but Daesung knows that while they are all suffering, some suffer more than others. Seunghyun is the pack's largest and most imposing figure, and a fierce fighter when he sets his mind to it. With tensions between them and their neighboring packs running high as of late, the Big Bang pack's longevity relies on its most capable members remaining fit to fight at a moment's notice. They cannot afford to let Seunghyun waste away to hunger. Daesung won't let it happen, not if he can help it.

Daesung can deal with a little hunger; he has done it before and he will do it again now. If he can just find something small to tide himself over...

And so he spends some time darting through the tall grasses around the house, chasing small prey with a single-minded determination. His eyes, ears, and nose, which have always served him well, seem to fail him. The dim light of the moon and the wind play tricks on him, casting moving shadows that fool him into chasing after prey where there is none. Every rustle of dry leaves across the ground has his ears perking at the thought of some tasty critter running through the underbrush. Under the moonlight Daesung does spot a few field mice, but they prove too quick, too elusive for him in his hunger-driven delirium.

To his credit, he does eventually catch a rat, after wasting far too much energy on it. But when he lifts it to his face, it bites his hand and he drops it, more from surprise than pain, and it scurries away so fast it's like it was never there to begin with. Daesung wants to cry.

No lizards. No snakes either. Definitely no quail... like they would even be active at night. His best efforts turn up nothing he can catch and sink his teeth into.

Feeling defeated and weak from his effort, too weak to go on with it, Daesung's legs give out under him. He slumps over where he sits in the sand, his tail limp and forlorn behind him. Plucking at a patch of grass, he wonders if it might be edible, if his body could possibly digest it. Unlike humans, wolves are almost fully carnivorous; he thrives on _meat_. But maybe...

He stuff a few blades in his mouth experimentally and chews on them... then promptly spits them out.

To his dismay, just having something in his mouth-- even something as inedible to him as grass-- sends the burning flames of hunger flaring again. And somehow, though he does not understand it, this time Daesung feels the waves of pain throughout his whole body, like hot tendrils licking at his insides and even stretching out into his arms and legs, a full-body agony. Helpless to stop it, he sits there in the sand and shakes and shakes.

"Daesung?"

Daesung whips around in the sand. In his misery he had missed the sound of another approaching. A little distance away stands Youngbae, his form a dark silhouette in the crescent moon's faint light.

"...Youngbae?" Daesung says weakly.

"What are you doing out here?" Youngbae asks, mixed notes of curiosity and concern mingling in his voice. Then, "You shouldn't be out here alone." _It's dangerous,_ Daesung doesn't need to be told. Far too dangerous out here to wander around at night, especially these days, especially by himself. But Daesung is beyond caring. He is so _hungry_.

Daesung turns back to the patch of grass in front of him, looking down at it sullenly. "Just..."

Fuck it, he is too hungry to hide it anymore, hurts too much to come up with a good lie. "Just looking for something to eat," he says softly.

"What?" Youngbae appears at his side, his approach silent. This is why he's one of their best solo hunters. "Something to eat? Right now?"

" _I'm so hungry_ ," Daesung whimpers. It hurts his pride to admit it... but his hunger hurts him more.

"So you came out here at night to hunt? For what... field mice?" he grins as he says it, clearly looking for the same reaction in Daesung. But Daesung doesn't return his smile, and Youngbae becomes solemn. "Yeah, it sucks. We're all slowly starving to death out here, aren't we."

"Do you think... you could catch something right now?"

"Now? Out here?" Youngbae takes a quick look around them. "Probably nothing out here but rats and snakes. Some big ole bugs too, I bet." He pulls a face as he says it.

"That's fine." Daesung's face burns as the words tumble off his lips. Youngbae looks surprised, at first. Then skeptical.

"Daesung... When was the last time you ate?"

Daesung shrugs, his eyes fixed resolutely on the ground, on the blades of grass swaying gently in the breeze. He could probably choke them down. Maybe he should give it another try.

"Seunghyun caught a couple of rabbits today," Youngbae continues. "I assumed the two of you shared them."

"Yeah, he offered them to me."

"I was a little jealous, to be honest. Rabbits are so good."

A beat of silence passes between them before Daesung finally speaks, unable to hold it in. "I let him have them-- _Don't_ tell him," Daesung urges him, grabbing the sleeve of Youngbae's shirt to emphasize his desperate plea.

" _Why?_ " Youngbae exclaims, aghast.

"I thought he needed them more. I _couldn't_ ," Daesung says in a rush, not wanting to explain any further, or to reveal his little white lie about Youngbae's fictional catch of crows.

"I'm surprised he didn't shove one down your throat anyway."

"I said I wasn't hungry. He bought it." Which, Daesung thinks, is a testament to how hungry Seunghyun himself was at the time. Youngbae's look of disapproval is too much.

"Youngbae, I'm going crazy here," Daesung says, despondent. "I can't sleep. I'll be happy with anything, I'm-- I'm so hungry. I'll eat _anything_. I just--" And just like that his throat closes up, the corners of his lips draw down sharply, and to his horror the next breath he draws comes out as a sob.

No, no, he can't fucking cry. It's just an empty stomach. It's just--

Youngbae doesn't miss a beat; just as Daesung clamps a hand over his own mouth, Youngbae falls to his knees, throws his arms around Daesung's head and pulls him close. He tucks Daesung's face tightly against his own strong chest, laying a hand on his bushy head of hair while the younger wolf struggles to contain the unexpected surge of emotion.

Youngbae may be their best hunter and one of their deadliest fighters, but at heart Youngbae is a mother figure to them all. When Seunghyun is absent, it is Youngbae who Daesung frequently goes to for emotional support, and especially to find strength in recent hard times. And sometimes even when Seunghyun is around, as Seunghyun is not always exactly a bastion of comfort.

"Shhh," Youngbae murmurs, a strong hand stroking over his hair. "Shit, Daesung. Don't, don't."

"I tried," Daesung cries, his mounting frustration at his inability to feed himself catching up to him and overtaking him, like a tidal wave pulling him under and out to sea. "I tried, Youngbae, but I couldn't catch anything and I'm _starving_. I didn't think twice about coming out here-- I didn't even think, I _couldn't_ \-- I just needed to put something in my stomach. It hurts!"

"...You were eating grass when I saw you," Youngbae says like he is finally making sense of what he had seen. "I thought maybe you were still asleep. Sleepwalking."

Daesung freezes in embarrassment. "That was--" Well, he _had_ been. "I was just tasting it," he says glumly. The shame is almost too much for him, sending fresh tears to his tired eyes. He wishes the ground would open up and swallow him so he would not have to face Youngbae, Youngbae who has now seen him attempting in earnest to eat grass. A wolf eating _grass?_ How desperate does one have to get?

Youngbae's mouth falls open in surprise. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry," he finally says, shaking his head. "God. _Daesung_. I'm so sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Daesung sniffs. "It's not your job to feed me."

"Maybe not... but it's also not your job to be so self-sacrificing. Next time when someone offers you half of something, _take it._ "

"I'll try."

Youngbae's hand in his hair tightens. "Let me get you something to eat."

"I caught a mouse. It bit me," Daesung says suddenly, feeling pitiful and small. Youngbae chuckles.

"Oh, Daesung," he says it with a kind of sad tone, but looking at him fondly. "Seriously, I'll catch you something. It will probably be small, but..."

"That's okay. That's more than okay," Daesung says. With his rising hope, so rises his returning hunger and he winces, though through sheer stubbornness refrains from wrapping his arms around his middle while Youngbae is looking. " _Thank you_."

"You don't have to thank me. Really, don't. Besides, I haven't caught anything yet." He ruffles Daesung's hair. "Now go wait inside."

That won't do. "I'm staying out here with you," Daesung says quite matter-of-factly. "Like you said. I shouldn't have been out here alone, but you shouldn't be either."

Youngbae hums in thought and gives him an appraising look. "You're right," he says. "Watch my back?"

Oh, Daesung will be watching him like a hawk. Youngbae is Daesung's ticket to a meal, after all. Or maybe just a snack. Still, he is grateful.

"Youngbae," Daesung stops him. "Just one thing. Please don't tell Seunghyun. _Please_ , it will kill him." Youngbae seems uncomfortable at that-- he doesn't much like to keep secrets from their packmates-- but after a long moment he gives Daesung his agreement with a curt nod. Then he sets off into the grass, making scarcely a sound as he seemingly floats through the tall stalks.

In the end he comes back with a pair of rats. Youngbae gives them to him already dead, knowing how Daesung dislikes dealing with live things, and deposits their limp bodies into his lap. In better times Daesung would never look twice at one of these dirty creatures, certainly would not consider eating one; but right now, with his stomach twisting and tying itself into excruciating knots inside him, he could cry with relief at the sight of them.

With Youngbae keeping a watchful eye over the both of them, Daesung wolfs them down like they're the most delicious meal he has ever had, disgusted with the sight he knows he must make but far too hungry to control himself. No need to take it slow. He eats everything, his predator's teeth designed for the devouring of live things making short work of it all-- skin and fur, organs and the occasional tiny bones, including the tiny skulls. The tails, though nothing but skin and bones, also go down with little trouble; Daesung doesn't even gag.

When there is so little to go around, nothing goes to waste.

The mixture of meat and gristle settles in his stomach with an abrupt heaviness, and he feels at first a little queasy... Until digestion kicks in, his stomach's juices going to work on the sad excuse for a meal now that he has finally satisfied its demands, at least somewhat. Just a midnight snack.

It isn't enough, but... for now, it has to be.

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Seunghyun will never forget the day he brought Daesung home and made him part of the pack.

Jiyong and Youngbae had taken to Daesung pretty quickly, all things considered. The three of them had not planned on adding any new members to the pack, so Seunghyun did not know what reaction to expect from them. Bringing this strange yet charming wolf home with him had been kind of a spur of the moment decision, after all.

In their main room Daesung had stood ramrod straight while Jiyong and Youngbae sniffed around him with interest, like if he moved a even muscle they would pounce on him in a second and follow through on Seunghyun's threat of actually _eating_ him. Obviously that had been a joke. He was ridiculous, Seunghyun thought.

"He smells like you," Jiyong had finally commented, giving him a knowing look. "Did you two do it out by the pond?"

"What the fuck," Seunghyun said, aghast. It didn't make any sense to him. Daesung bore his scent? How was that even possible? "No, not today. Not in a long time, actually."

It had been _weeks_.

They made Daesung take off his wet clothes so they could get a better look at their newest member. With some help Daesung managed to peel off the sopping clothing and drop them unceremoniously on the floor, first the heavy coat, then his equally soaked shirt underneath, and it was impossible to miss the way Jiyong's eyes lit up at what he saw. His hands went straight to Daesung's abs without preamble, which sent Daesung scooting backwards in a hurry until he collided hard with a wall.

"Well, aren't you skittish," Jiyong had said, thoughtful. "What's with you, anyway? Come here." He advanced on Daesung again. Still spooked but at least prepared for Jiyong's touch this time, Daesung let him explore, unmoving while Jiyong ran curious hands over his chest, his sides, prodding at the meaty spaces between his ribs, the well-developed muscles over his stomach.

Daesung had a lean, defined look about him, attractively muscled in all the right places. Seunghyun had known when he first caught sight of him that he was fit and strong, but he hadn't had time to really appreciate the quality of what he'd had under him, at the time.

Jiyong's budding interest in what Seunghyun was rapidly coming to think of as _his find_ set Seunghyun's teeth on edge, for a reason he couldn't put his finger on. As alpha, Jiyong got first dibs on new members of the pack; such was the way of their world. And Jiyong did have an appetite when the right one came along... such as now. Jiyong got that wicked glint in his eye, and Seunghyun knew what was to happen next.

To no one's surprise but Daesung's, he instructed Daesung to remove his pants too.

At the order something rose up in Seunghyun; but he swiftly squashed it. Over this pack Jiyong was leader. Jiyong was alpha. If Jiyong told one of them to take off his pants, well... those pants had better come off, and quickly.

Of course, Daesung balked.

"I-- what--" Daesung started, frozen against the wall. Jiyong shrugged and set about undoing the fly of his jeans himself. Daesung's hands flew to his to stop them, but that wouldn't do; Jiyong _growled_ , showing him his teeth in reprimand.

If it hadn't been for Jiyong's hands at the waistband of his ripped jeans, Daesung would have dropped to the floor right there; instead he flattened himself to the wall, palms against the wood and head turned sharply to one side, baring his neck in an unmistakable display of submission.

Seunghyun wanted to bite that neck, wanted to drop his canines into the muscle along the side, put something of himself beside his scent on the other wolf, something visible for all to see. He was halfway to Daesung, his legs taking him nearly across the room before he realized he had moved, his body set into motion without his permission.

"Good boy," Jiyong purred, rewarding the man before him with a pleased smile. "I think we'll get along just fine."

Daesung's pants were harder to remove, the wet denim sticking to his thighs as denim does, but eventually, with some help from Youngbae, they ended up in a damp pile on the floor beside his discarded shirt and jacket.

"Oh _my_ ," Jiyong declared, eyes fixed on what hung between Daesung's legs. "Tell me again why your pack let you go."

" _Jiyong_ ," Youngbae groaned.

"I'm fucking serious, Youngbae," Jiyong said, clearly delighted. "Seunghyun, how much have you seen? I bet you took him from behind, didn't you? Have you seen this?"

To his credit, Jiyong seemed content with only looking, not moving to touch the parts of Daesung unveiled to him. Good thing, too, because Daesung looked every bit like he might shoot through the roof if he did.

"Jiyong," Seunghyun sighed, echoing Youngbae. "Yeah, he's... he's great." _Impressive_ , Seunghyun thought, but he couldn't fully appreciate what he was seeing when Daesung looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here, like he wanted to die, maybe. His dark, shaggy hair had fallen over his eyes, hiding at least that much from the others' view.

Seunghyun was fast coming to realize that he missed the sight of those eyes looking up at him.

Jiyong swiveled around and gave him a long look. "Okay," he said after a moment. He touched a finger to Daesung's chin and turned his head gently to face him, almost kindly. "Daesung."

"I didn't mean to humiliate you," he said. "In fact, you should be proud." Daesung made a face and Jiyong laughed. "Okay, okay! We'll loan you some clothes while your others are drying out. No thanks to Seunghyun. He pushed you into the pond, is that right? That's how you know he likes you," he said with a bright smile, like after the ordeal he had just put Daesung through he wanted to comfort him after all.

Seunghyun hadn't told him about the fish he had scooped out of the pond and given Daesung afterward. Such a small, insignificant thing, really. Not even worth mentioning.

"Seunghyun," Jiyong's voice rang out a moment later-- Jiyong, who wore an expression like he knew far more than he had a right to at this point, like he was privy to some piece of information that no one else in the room had accessed yet.

"Yeah?"

Stepping back and sweeping an arm toward Daesung as if he was presenting to Seunghyun a great gift, Jiyong said smoothly, "He's all yours."

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
"Youngbae never caught any crows."

Daesung looks up from where he is idly sifting through their meager stores of supplies-- jars of bones that they've stored away to chew on when the cravings grow too strong, too insistent to ignore. The long bones of the legs they can crack open and scrape out the marrow, nutrient dense and energy rich.

"Hm?" he says absentmindedly.

Seunghyun strides up to him and takes him firmly by the arm, the tight grip of his fingers over Daesung's bicep borderline painful. "Youngbae never caught any crows. You lied to me," Seunghyun says, looking betrayed. " _Why?_ "

Oh. Oh, shit.

He had asked Youngbae not to tell Seunghyun about the incident with the rabbits, but he had forgotten to clue him in on his fib about the catch of crows. The crows Daesung had told Seunghyun he had eaten. The reason for his alleged lack of hunger, and his basis for refusing Seunghyun's generous gift of two freshly-caught rabbits.

 _Seunghyun_ had caught them, Daesung reasons. _Seunghyun_ had needed them more than he did. Daesung often feels he has little power to protect his mate who is on the war path for him too often; how can he return his devotion? Daesung does what little he can, and if that means dodging a meal or two for the other's sake, so be it.

That had been Daesung's reasoning. Something tells Daesung his reasoning will surely not go over well with Seunghyun.

"I-- I really wasn't hungry," he stammers, continuing the lie, hoping against hope that Seunghyun will let the issue drop.

" _Bullshit_ ," Seunghyun growls, squeezing Daesung's upper arm harder.

"Stop it, that _hurts_ ," Daesung complains, a jolt of pain racing up his arm, and Seunghyun releases him.

"Why did you lie to me." he states rather than asks, looking wounded. "You hadn't eaten. You were hungry, I know it now. I should have seen it. I offered you those rabbits... or one of them anyway, because I wanted you to have them." His face twisting up in perhaps the most pitiful expression Daesung has ever seen on him. "I don't understand."

There is no way around it. "You needed them more than I did."

" _No!_ " Seunghyun shouts, and Daesung startles badly; he can't help it. "I _wanted_ you to have them. I _needed_ you to have them. Seeing you benefit from them would have brought me more satisfaction than eating them myself. You don't believe me _but it's true!_ " he cries, his voice breaking at the end. He steps forward to close the already small gap between them and takes one of Daesung's hands in his own, murmuring softly, "One meal is a short term satisfaction. Knowing that I've provided for you... that's forever."

At a loss for words, Daesung can say nothing. Short of giving in, nothing he can say will placate Seunghyun on this matter.

With one hand clutching at Daesung's, Seunghyun slides his other up under his shirt. Gently, searching, he presses his palm to Daesung's belly, smooths the pads of his fingers over his ribs which are becoming more obvious by the day, skin drawn tight over the increasingly sharp lines of his body. He drops his head against Daesung's collar and noses into his neck in a way that signals grieving. They are all dropping weight quickly, much too quickly.

"Seunghyun..."

"We can't go on like this," Seunghyun whispers mournfully, and his uncharacteristically sorrowful tone stabs Daesung right through the heart. Sometimes, without even trying, Seunghyun hurts him more than he realizes.

"We'll figure something out. Jiyong will..." Jiyong will what? Jiyong can't single-handedly bring back the herds, can't restore the balance of these lands they've called home for so long. Jiyong is a force to be reckoned with, but even he does not have that kind of power.

Seunghyun lifts his head and looks him square in the eye, and Daesung returns his gaze helplessly.

"Jiyong keeps us here. He is killing us all by keeping us here," Seunghyun mutters.

"Don't say that," Daesung scolds. "He's doing what he thinks is best for us. I... I trust him."

"We should just go, you and me. Fuck the others, if they don't want to leave we'll find someplace better. Start a pack of our own."

" _Don't say that_ ," Daesung says quickly. He understands Seunghyun's frustration, his dwindling hope, but Daesung dreads the day where he must choose between his mate and his pack. Cannot imagine the pain of making such a decision. Doesn't know if he _could_. "Could you really leave them?" he asks, and Seunghyun only grumbles irritably, a low sound full of discontent.

"I can't watch you waste away."

"I won't," Daesung says, though he knows it is an empty reassurance. The evidence of their hardship is written on his body, their sheer _lack of_ illustrated in sharp hipbones and a belly that seems to dip further inward every day.

"You already are."

"I'm not."

"We all are," Seunghyun says, utterly resigned, and Daesung knows that he has made up his mind beyond the point of listening to anything he has to say.

"I'm going hunting," Seunghyun states. "And whatever I catch, when I get back I want you to have it. I want to see you eat it."

"I'm not--"

"I'm supposed to take care of you," Seunghyun insists, pressing closer to Daesung.

Daesung sighs, refusing to cave under Seunghyun's crowding. "I feel the same way about you, you know." He cannot let Seunghyun intimidate him on this matter.

In response Seunghyun actually pouts at him, his tail swaying hopefully behind him. The sight is absurd, and Daesung cracks a smile. " _Alright_ , but I'm going with you. Our chances are better together," he says fondly. "And whatever we get, I'll eat it... but you're eating it with me."

Seunghyun grins then. "Will you let me feed you?"

When Daesung opens his mouth to reply Seunghyun attacks his lips zealously, swallowing up whatever he was going to say.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
When they land their kill, just an unfortunate raccoon lurking nearby in search of scraps-- like they even have scraps to waste-- Seunghyun uses his mouth to feed strips of the dark meat to Daesung like a mother bird caring for its young. The process is a bloody, ungainly affair that leaves them a bloody mess and their faces tacky with dried, flaking blood, but it quells the fire in their stomachs for a short time. Daesung returns the favor, passing bits and shreds of their shared kill into Seunghyun's waiting mouth, and he thinks that after everything they've been through, this just might be the most intimate moment he has ever shared with this man he calls his mate.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Trespassers.

With tired eyes they stare down the sad-looking pack of wolves they have cornered against a cliff's edge.

Eight grim faces stare right back at them, hollow eyes boring into theirs. Their bodies are gaunt and overly lean, their skin stretched paper thin over brittle bones.

They are all suffering here, but some are suffering more than others.

"There used to be more of you," Seunghyun muses, not intentionally taunting but provocative nonetheless. Daesung shoots him a worried look.

"We've already lost two," a man who appears to be their leader says bitterly, like he holds them solely responsible for the deaths of his packmates. "No thanks to you bastards, driving us off the land every time we so much as set foot on it."

"If you were ever going to fight us," Seunghyun starts, "you should have done it when you had us outnumbered two to one, when you had strength enough to try us. Look at the lot of you now." He forges on ahead recklessly, heedless of the growing tension between them. He's enjoying it, Daesung realizes. "You're too weak now to do much of anything but scrounge around for scraps. Pathetic."

"Something tells me you're not doing much better, yourself," the man replies, sizing them all up with a shrewd gaze. "How's it feel to be hungry? Not enjoying it, are you?"

A growl starts in Jiyong's throat and the rest of the pack follows suit, the threat in their combined voices building. Dutifully, Daesung follows his alpha's lead, but he cannot ignore the danger of their present situation. A fight here, right now, would be a fight to the death. There is too much on the line for all of them for it end any other way.

"We're not leaving here without a meal, not today," the other wolf says, "Maybe we'll start with one of you."

The way his hungry eyes sweep over him and the rest of his pack, like looking at them with new eyes, eyes that see other wolves not as equals or as rivals but as something much less-- as food-- sends a shiver of fear and revulsion running up Daesung's spine. He can't be serious.

Daesung would rather die than lower himself to feeding on the flesh of another wolf.

"You're disgusting," Jiyong sneers.

"We're _dying_ ," the man retorts. "If being a little disgusting means surviving, so be it."

"You eat your own kind and you're no better than dogs," Youngbae adds.

"So what? At least we would be alive," the man replies, his nonchalance concerning. "Better dogs than dead." Seunghyun gives him a discerning look, until something seems to dawn on his face.

"Was that the fate of your missing packmates?" he asks, as if coming to a terrible realization. "Tell me, was it that you couldn't let an opportunity go to waste once they were already dead?" he begins, and Daesung fears what comes next. "Or did you kill them first and then eat them?"

The man across from them roars at Seunghyun in outraged fury, and the fight that results leaves half the opposing pack's members on the ground, struggling to pick themselves up out of the dirt.

Daesung and his pack fare better, dusting themselves off and wiping at only a few shallow cuts. His heart had jumped into his throat when he had seen Seungri go down for a second during the fight, only to spring back to his feet, the wind knocked out of him but otherwise unharmed. Seunghyun looks nearly pristine, and entirely too pleased with himself for prompting that violent reaction..

Even in their current state, as five his pack are a force to be reckoned with.

"You _fucker_ ," the other group's leader groans in pain, staggering to his feet and favoring his bloody side where Seunghyun had slashed into him viciously, unforgiving.

"That was foolish of you to let me goad you into that," Seunghyun gloats. Nodding to the hole he put in the other's side, he says, "You'll be lucky to recover from that. The end is nearer than you thought."

Jiyong steps forward, effectively ending their exchange. "Alright, you gave it a try. Consider that your last stand," he says, waving them away, eyes on their ailing leader. "Go home, go wherever. But don't come around here again. There is nothing for you here."

It's clear the man wants to keep fighting, a bonfire of anger and insult blazing in his eyes impossible to miss. In a way Daesung admires his determination, and at the same time fears his resolve.

These are wolves at their wit's end. Desperation can drive a wolf to desperate measures.

Watching him gather up the injured remainder of his pack and go, Daesung feels oddly, inexplicably afraid, something in his survival instinct warning him about this one. For a moment he forgets about his own hurts, the cuts on his arm where sharp claws had split the skin-- a shallow wound, nothing more. Already the gashes are mending, his blood clotting and his skin beginning to stitch itself back together, one tiny red cell at a time.

Seunghyun's concerned prodding at the injury makes him wince, but outside of that small pain the bulk of Daesung's attention is elsewhere, his eyes fixed on the tiny figures limping away into the distance and vanishing into the flora.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
They've been hunting for _hours_. Today they were fortunate enough to sight an antelope, a very small doe, but the meat she would provide would be adequate enough to feed all of them sufficiently. They have been stalking her for hours, Jiyong and Youngbae flanking her on both sides, Seunghyun in direct pursuit behind, and Daesung and Seungri together at the back in case the doe decides to double back and flee in the direction they came.

Ghosting in and out of sight, Seunghyun never gets close enough to touch her, but he can practically taste the delectable meal that waits for him just under her skin.

Then, somewhere along the way they lost her. They fucking _lost_ her. She'd vanished at some point into the thick brush, disappeared into the branches and vines that grow so thick in these parts of the woods, was simply _gone_ like she was never there to begin with. To Seunghyun it feels like what they have been chasing after all these hours was nothing but a specter, a cruel spirit taunting them with the promise of a meal, something to end the constant ache of hunger, the only thing driving their weary bodies forward this far into famine.

Seunghyun stops suddenly and plants his feet in the dirt, gulping down lungfuls of the unbearably humid late afternoon air. Trickles of sweat run down his forehead, dripping into his eyes and making them burn. Fuck. He doesn't know how much more of this he can take.

He finds a place in the shade and collapses there, propping his back against a tree. Still hungry and irritable as ever, but at least out of the sun. First to catch up to him are Daesung and Seungri. Both are wrung out, though all they had to do was keep up and stay alert. Jiyong and Youngbae do set a quick pace. Not everyone in their hunting party is as swift as those two; there are times when keeping pace with them is a struggle even for Seunghyun.

Daesung flops down in the dirt beside him, crossing his legs at the ankles and staring down at his knees forlornly. Seunghyun would grab him and pull him close-- all the way into his lap, normally-- but it's too damn hot right then to cuddle up to another wolf, let alone Daesung. His body runs so hot as it is.

"Why aren't you farther ahead?" Daesung asks him, though Seunghyun is sure he already knows the answer.

"Pretty sure we lost the damn doe," Seunghyun snaps, feeling cross. "Goddamn it!" He kicks at a few pebbles by his feet, unleashing his petulance. He knows he is acting like a child, and he doesn't fucking care. They have not eaten well in weeks, barely surviving on rodents and reptiles and the occasional binge of large, crunchy insects-- it's revolting and humiliating. He thinks they must be the most pathetic wolf pack to ever live, they way they carry on.

Daesung picks at a loose thread on his torn jeans. He has the air of someone who tasted defeat one time too many-- like perhaps he expected this, had no hope of a meal even during the hunt, and it wrecks Seunghyun to see him so beaten down. Daesung's face in profile is more angular than Seunghyun has ever seen it, his jaw and high cheekbones sharply defined. It might be an attractive look on him if Seunghyun did not know the reason for it, was unaware of his mate's growing so lean with every passing day.

He wants to see Daesung thriving, wants to give him everything he requires and more. He wants to see him packing on muscle, his body turning abundance into strength and vitality.

But what Seunghyun wants does not matter. The world around them does not care about the fates of five hungry, despondent werewolves. They are all dying a slow, agonizing death because they cannot provide for themselves. Their land is dying, their way of life dissolving around them. Overcome by a sudden, intense sadness, Seunghyun drapes an arm around Daesung's shoulder and pulls him close.

"What are we going to do," Daesung mumbles, likely more to himself than anyone. Fast growing devoid of hope himself, Seunghyun lacks the words to console him. He tucks a hand in against Daesung's side and squeezes tight, as much for the other's benefit as for his own.

Above them Seungri puts his hands on his hips and scowls, staring at the horizon like it holds some clue to the mystery of their continued survival.

So they wait. Jiyong and Youngbae do eventually return, one close on the heels of the other. They return empty-handed, of course; their sullen expressions reflect their growing frustration, and it is all the signal Seunghyun needs. From his place on the ground, Daesung drowsing against his side, he speaks up. He addresses Jiyong primarily when he says, "You know what this means."

"No, I don't," Jiyong replies waspishly. He flicks his wet hair away from his face; sweat flies off. "Enlighten me, Seunghyun. What _does_ this mean?"

"Don't fucking play with me," Seunghyun snarls, squeezing Daesung's side as the other begins to stir at his side. "There's nothing here for us anymore. That was the first large prey we've seen in how many weeks? Large enough to feed all of us, anyway. It's time to move on. Greener pastures and all that."

Jiyong sighs heavily, putting his whole body into it, his shoulders dropping dramatically as he exhales, like they've been over this so many times. They _have_ , but Seunghyun still doesn't appreciate the dramatics.

"Alright, you tell me. Where else can we go? What else is there beyond this? Do you know something I don't?" He folds his arms, looking contemplative. "We just need to be smarter."

"We _have_ been smart, as smart as we can be. We've managed this land and its resources to the _very best_ of our ability, but still there is nothing left for us! Why are you so determined to keep us here?" Seunghyun says, his voice rising, beyond his control. "You're the one holding us here. You're slowly killing us!"

"I'm _not_ ," Jiyong defends, eyes glassy but still so fierce. "I would never, I just... Do you know how dangerous moving would be? To just take what we can-- not much, by the way-- and go?"

"There might be a place," Seunghyun counters. He can't believe he is even bringing it up.

"That is a fairy tale, Seunghyun."

"It's hope, at least! Maybe we'll never make it there, maybe it doesn't exist after all! But we might find someplace along the way where we can settle down again. _We have to try_ , Jiyong."

"I'm not ready to risk the lives of everyone in this pack to chase after something I can't confirm actually exists."

"If we leave now we might at least survive the journey," Seunghyun reasons, flattening his palm against Daesung's side as he says it, feeling ribs too readily for his liking, but that's nothing new these days. "We grow weaker every day. You see that, can't you? Wait too long and some of us won't be able to make the journey, even if we want to."

"Of course I see it, I'm not blind! And I'm sorry, I'm _so sorry_ , but I don't know what to do!" he cries. He is hurting just as much as the rest of them.

Seunghyun squeezes his eyes shut and says, "One of these days you're going to wake up, and one of us will not."

The thought paralyzes him with fear. To even speak of it fills him with a terrible anxiety, but Seunghyun is in no mood to pull his punches. Jiyong must realize what's at stake here.

Jiyong looks at them, _really_ looks at them-- at the weary faces of his packmates whose inner flames grow dimmer every day, like flickering candles. He takes in the sight of Seunghyun holding close a Daesung who has long since lost his smile, at a Seungri who is quieter than ever these days, the surest sign of all that something is terribly wrong. He turns to Youngbae, his closest friend and confidant, doubt scrawled across his face.

"It doesn't seem to be getting any better out here," Youngbae reasons calmly. "And with rival packs continuing to challenge us for the rights to this land... Should we keep risking our lives to defend it? We need to consider the possibility that there might be little left for us here."

At that Jiyong starts pacing, as he always does when aggravated, faced with a difficult decision. "I try to take care of you all. The survival of this pack is all I care about. But at this point I don't know what to do. I don't fucking know!"

"You're our leader, Jiyong. We trust you," Youngbae assures him, taking a sure step forward. "But Seunghyun... does have a point, I have to admit," he says somewhat reluctantly. Jiyong buries his hands in his own hair and tugs, clearly torn.

"We're living on rats and lizards," Seunghyun says coolly. "That may be your idea of surviving, but it's not mine. It's _time_ , Jiyong."

"You're not in charge here, _Seunghyun_ ," Jiyong hisses suddenly, turning on him with a wild look in his eyes. " _Know your place_."

Seunghyun leaps to his feet with an unexpected burst of strength he didn't think he still had, Daesung tumbling into the dirt behind him at the sudden loss of support.

"I will not follow someone who knowingly leads me to my death," Seunghyun snarls, pouring all his anger and resentment and the goddamn everpresent burn of _hunger_ into his voice.

He loves Jiyong, loves this place he has maintained for them, cherishes with all his heart this family unit he has kept together for so many years... but enough is enough and Seunghyun has reached the limit of his patience.

"You don't like it? Then fucking _go_ ," Jiyong snarls, his claws extending and his fangs peeking out from behind his lips; in response, Seunghyun does the same.

This feud between them has been a long time coming. It's time to settle.

Not a moment later Daesung, ever the peacemaker, scrambles to his feet and throws himself bodily between them. "No, _no!_ " he cries. "Don't fight! Please listen to me, just... listen. If you two fight it will be the end of this pack," he says, near tears.

Seunghyun understands his plea. If he and Jiyong spill each other's blood here, now, they may never recover-- physically or otherwise. The others would surely get involved. Everyone would have a part in it. One way or another, the pack as a whole would suffer a fatal wound.

"Seunghyun," Daesung breathes, turning to him and shaking his head. "Don't do this. For _me_ , don't do this."

Seunghyun tests his resolve; takes a step toward him in warning. Daesung tenses up all over, but he stands his ground, his hands lifted to both of them, claws unsheathed, their sharp edges gleaming in the light of the setting sun. He looks _fucking terrified_ but there is a determination in him that Seunghyun respects. He steps back.

Before he knows it, Seungri has joined Daesung, turning those sad eyes of his on Jiyong, with whom he has always had an unusual connection. "Daesung is right," he states, a note of finality in his voice that seems hard to argue with, and Daesung looks at Seungri like he might cry from relief. "The odds are already against us... The last thing we should be doing right now is tearing ourselves apart. We can figure this out, I _know_ it. Jiyong... Seunghyun... Please."

Their joint rebellion has them both afraid, nearly shaking in fright where they stand, theirs backs to each other, but Daesung's fear in particular is palpable to Seunghyun, the sight of it unmistakable, the scent of it undeniable, the fact of it unbearable... and right then his love for this man drains all the fight out of Seunghyun like somewhere on him a valve was twisted open.

He is the first to turn away. Jiyong follows a moment later. Their young ones' gamble has paid off.

Seunghyun cannot say that he is necessarily _grateful_ to Daesung in this moment for his interference... But in a way, he is proud of him.

In the sky over them the sun sinks ever lower, resting for a time on the treetops as if the day's hardships have taken a toll on it too; and without any further words they head back to the place they call home, the five of them again as one. For now, it is a truce. The future is uncertain, their longevity not promised.

Maybe they will chance upon a few critters along the way; maybe they won't. Swinging his arm out to the side and catching Daesung's hand in his own, Seunghyun keeps his eyes firmly fixed ahead of him as he stalks through the grass, ready to sprint ahead if an opportunity presents itself, even in his state of fatigue.

He cannot just stop moving, refuses to give in to the lethargy, the increasing weariness. If Seunghyun stops, he dies. As his survival instinct is strong, so is he.

He runs his thumb over the tops of Daesung's knuckles and repeats to himself, like a mantra written on his heart, _Never give in. Never give up._

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
The seasons are turning. One windy afternoon Seunghyun finds Jiyong standing outside, staring up at the sky like his mind is miles away, eyes fixed on some secret written in the clouds... his thoughts captive to the promise of another land, perhaps.

"A cold front is coming," he says simply, like it is the most obvious thing in the world. Jiyong has always had a knack for predicting the weather, a talent that has proven useful over the years.

Thus, to no one's surprise, his prediction proves correct. Not days later a fierce cold snap falls over the land, a harbinger of autumn, sending them scrambling for firewood outside and kindle to light it. Inside, they scrounge through their scant belongings in search of clothing to keep them warm in the sudden, chilly weather. They possess very little, and despite their best efforts, the arctic air bites at their skin through the fabric of their thin shirts and the holes of their ripped jeans.

When Daesung appears wearing his old oversized coat, the material decorated in splotchy smears of green and white camo, Seunghyun's heart aches for him. He looks even smaller in it now than on the day when Seunghyun had met him properly, had learned his name. He had pushed Daesung into the pond at the edge of their old property... property they have long since abandoned in the pursuit of more prosperous hunting grounds. It had been a crisp day like this one when Seunghyun had crept up behind Daesung and sent him tumbling gracelessly into the murky water.

This time, when Daesung pulls on that too-large coat of his, disappearing into a sea of fabric, Seunghyun does not push him away. He grabs him by the collar and pulls him into the privacy of their shared room, away from the curious eyes of their packmates. On their old mattress he fucks Daesung in that coat, and nothing but that coat, holding his legs apart and plowing into him like a creature possessed. On his back before him Daesung moans extravagantly, the sides of his jacket falling open around his body-- which, while thinner and weaker than Seunghyun has ever seen it, is more than enough to make him come alive with lust, taking his pleasure from this man and giving pleasure in return, this wolf who is everything to him.

Seunghyun is delighted to prove to Daesung that in a time when they have so little to give each other, he can still give him _this_.

With a hand on Daesung's cock, pumping palm and fingers up and down his rigid length with a bruising grip he knows he likes, Seunghyun drags his orgasm out of him with such speed and skill that Daesung comes apart with a sudden, astonished cry. He tosses his head back against the mattress, his tail under him quivering, claws tangling in the sheets by his head and pulling, _tearing_ , and his display of perfect, unadulterated pleasure is the most glorious scene Seunghyun has ever witnessed. He wants Daesung to lose himself to him completely, coming undone under the power and potency of his love. Wants to take him apart piece by piece, only to sweep up the remains and stitch him back together again. Wants to split him open on the end his cock, spearing him with his desire, diving into his body as deeply as his flesh will take him.

Seunghyun hungers for many things these days, but nothing is as his hunger for this man. Likewise, Daesung hungers for him. So Seunghyun feeds his cock into Daesung's hungry hole, granting him another kind of sustenance. Daesung reaches back to him, wanting, accepting, his hole fluttering around the hard length of his cock and swallowing up with a voracity that sets Seunghyun's blood afire. And when Seunghyun comes at last, spilling into Daesung with a beastly sound, biting mindlessly at every inch of his lover's skin within his reach, Seunghyun mulls over the possibility that if only he could keep Daesung fed like this, if this was all they required, this perfect act between them of giving and receiving, they could live forever.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Daesung cannot believe what he's seeing.

Today he and Seungri have left the den together, creeping out quietly in the dim light of early morning, before the sun had fully cleared the horizon, to seek out prey. In their quest for food, they have found something a little more interesting, and a lot more daunting.

It's a cottage. Daesung stares at the structure in awe, wondering how long it has stood here. Has it been so long since they last came in this direction? When did they last set foot this far south? Have he and Seungri really journeyed that far just today?

The more important question is, when have humans come so far north? Never before has he seen a human settle on what he has always thought of as _their_ land.

They explore the area with great caution, Daesung watching for signs of movement in the windows and doors like a hawk. The smell of human permeates the area, as if absorbed by the blades of grass surrounding the home and ground into to the very dirt beneath their feet; it sets him on edge. Around the back of the building he spies what appears to be a garden, and he is struck by a pang of longing. If only they could have a garden... But a garden would grow nothing that would suit them and their needs.

Then they see some fencing. Nothing substantial, just thin strips of metal with ends twisted around each other to form a barrier for something small, or for something not so small but quite dumb. Lacking in intelligence. Something like, if they could be so lucky, livestock.

"Let's see if there are any chickens," Seungri says. Then, "Oh my god, what if there are goats? Humans are all about keeping livestock, right? They've gotta have some animals." His normally sad eyes light up in anticipation.

"Wait," Daesung says, and as Seungri starts forward Daesung's arms flies up and snatches the younger wolf by the shirt. "What if there's someone inside?" _What if he has a gun?_ Daesung thinks, a tremor passing through him at the memory of his last close encounter with the terrible weapon.

Seungri frowns hard. "It will be fine. I'll be careful." He touches Daesung's fingers where they're pinching his shirt, brushing them away. Daesung lets go of him.

No, _he can't_. Seungri makes it only a few steps away before Daesung makes up his mind and lunges after him again, pulling back on him harder this time.

"Seungri, don't," he says, afraid for him. To go any closer is too dangerous, no matter how brave they may be. "Let's just go. We need to tell the others about this."

The front door flies open and out steps a man, large all over with a heavyset brow, a rifle heavy at his side. His gaze sweeps the area and lands squarely on them where they're crouched near a line of bushes. It sends Daesung's heart leaping into his throat.

"Fucking wolves, scram!" the man shouts, raising the rifle to his shoulder the moment he sees their tails jutting out behind them. Without a second thought, he and Seungri turn tail and bolt, running like their lives depend on it-- because they _do_.

A warning shot rings out at their backs, the awful sound tumbling over them like a clap of thunder.

"Filthy dogs!" he and Seungri hear as they scamper away.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
They are ambushed on their way back, late in the afternoon when the cicadas have begun their daily song, their unceasing buzzing a grating but commonplace sound, lulling them into a sense of security borne of familiarity.

It is amid this song that they come under attack.

Their assailants are not humans but wolves, the very pack of wolves they had sent packing with their tails between their legs not weeks before, to his and Seungri's astonishment. It seems to Daesung that every living thing on the planet conspires against them. _Why, why?_

The pack is weak, recovering at a snail's pace from their previous skirmish, but the eight of them against the two of _them_ , Seungri and him, is simply no contest. If they had not gone adventuring alone...

 _No_ , Daesung thinks, a cocktail of fear and adrenaline making it difficult to think. There isn't time to beat himself up over his and Seungri's mutual, _foolish_ decision to set out as a two-person hunting party that morning.

"You aren't the wolf I wanted," a voice above him says. "But I think you'll do just fine after all."

Daesung knows what he must do. As their attackers wrangle Daesung in and wrestle his tiring body to the ground, he screams at Seungri who is yet unharmed, to _run_.

"Get out of here, go!" _Get the others!_ he doesn't cry. _Come back for me!_ he doesn't plead, though he desperately wants to. Daesung's priority is ensuring that Seungri makes it home, makes his way to the safety of their pack. With a tortured look over his shoulder, Seungri does as he is told, fleeing into the distance, toward help, toward hope.

Until they cover his mouth with rough hands and silence his cries, Daesung howls over and over again to his shrinking figure, until he is hoarse, until the lining of his throat feels ragged and torn, until every sound he forces out feels like hot coals over his soft insides, " ** _Run!_** "

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
It is a cool, quiet evening. Even with the sun slung low over the horizon, the air is light and frigid. Seunghyun sits with his back against the outer wall of the house, lounging in the warming sun.

Until a long, plaintive howl pierces the quiet evening, startling him awake.

The sound stabs through him, pulls him to his feet. Not far off he sees Seungri running at him, frantic. He looks like he has run for miles, like he will collapse where he stands the moment he stops running. He is alone.

He had not been alone when he left that morning.

"Daesung," he pants, bending over with his hands on his knees, thoroughly winded. "They have Daesung!"

"Where?" Seunghyun says, a spike of fear and adrenaline setting his heart to racing. He must go to his mate, but first he must know _where_.

"I'll get the others," Seungri huffs and disappears into the house.

Seunghyun flies across fields and down well worn dirt paths. Wherever he is, Daesung needs him. There is nothing in this world that can spur him to action faster than Daesung in distress. Following their connection, an invisible tether that ties Daesung to him, and him to Daesung, Seunghyun throws himself over the land at such a speed he may as well be flying.

When they arrive they find the pack from before waiting for them, all of them miraculously still clinging to survival. To Seunghyun's surprise-- and disappointment-- their leader did not perish from the nasty wound he had dealt him in their last encounter. There he stands, front and center, and at his side a captive Daesung. His arms pulled hard behind his back by one, Daesung appears mostly unharmed-- more distressed than damaged.

"Well, well," the head wolf says, entirely too smug for his own good, "That worked even better than I expected."

"You piece of shit, you should be dead," Seunghyun snarls. Behind him he heard Seungri mewling out weak apologies to Daesung. "Let him go!"

"You'll get him back," he says flippantly. "But first, there's something we want from you."

He knows where this is going.

"Your hunting grounds. Give us the land."

Seunghyun scowls, knowing they drive a hard bargain. Their land truly is their livelihood, the last thing of any value they have left to themselves besides each other. Jiyong will not readily hand it over.

"...Alright," Jiyong says, with obvious reluctance. "We'll permit you to use the land. We'll share it."

"No," he says flatly. "No sharing. You don't get your friend back until the land is ours." He shakes Daesung for emphasis.

"You don't know how to manage it!" Jiyong replies. "As if we would just hand it over it to you. We need to eat too."

"We can manage it just fine. Maybe you're the ones having problems. Maybe what you need," the man says, menacing, "is one less mouth to feed."

"Touch him and you're dead," Seunghyun snarls, though there is little he can truly do at the moment. Daesung is too far from him, too close to them; they would tear out his throat in the split second it would take Seunghyun and the others to reach him. It's an empty threat.

He will make sure the man and the rest of his pack end the day as a smear of blood on the ground... but must reclaim Daesung first.

"But I already am touching him," the man says as his hand plunges into Daesung's messy hair, fingers curling into a fist around Daesung's dark locks and yanking him close. He grins as if taunting Seunghyun is the most fun he has had in ages. Like what Seunghyun had done to him the last time they met. Like poking and prodding a chained with sharpened sticks.

After all, when it comes to Seunghyun, violence is only a matter of time.

"You know, this is what I just don't get," he ponders aloud, stepping further into the flames of Seunghyun's ire. "What does _this bitch_ ," he says, giving Daesung a hard shake, "have that a wolf like you would want so bad, anyway? How have you got him so whipped?"

He pulls Daesung closer by his hair and leers at him. "I've seen you in the field. That's right, you probably didn't even know I was there. You aren't a very good hunter. You're clumsy and you're skittish. Oh, you'll eat what's given you, sure... but you lack the appetite for the kill. You'd have no place among my pack's hunting party."

He looks Daesung up and down, and Seunghyun bristles further, if possible, his tail stretched out stiff behind him, all the hairs standing on end. The sight of his filthy, hungry eyes raking over his mate is more than enough to send him deeper into his fit of rage.

"Are you real tight? Is that it? You keep his bed and cock warm at night?" With that he jams a hand down the back of Daesung's pants, searching. Daesung jerks in his grasp, a pained gasp escaping him through parted lips, and Seunghyun sees red.

" _Don't you fucking touch him!_ " Seunghyun roars and springs at him. He does not get far before Youngbae's arm through his jerks him back, and the man dances away a step, tugging Daesung with him.

"Whoa, now!" He swings Daesung around and places him between them like a meat shield. The ends of his fingers morph into talons at his throat, the sharp tips not quite breaking the skin but pressing, testing the tension, threatening. Daesung falls limp under his touch without a sound. "I was just asking. Anyway," he croons against Daesung's ear. "I'd push my knot into you in a heartbeat."

 _Like you even have a knot, you piece of shit excuse for a wolf,_ Seunghyun wants to say, but the way Daesung shudders all over in revulsion, powerless in his hold, stays his tongue.

Jiyong finally speaks up, his face awash in pain. "Alright! Alright... We'll divide it up. We grant you parts of our land. Half? We'll give you half. We can work out exactly what parts later."

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be," the man says, nodding in apparent understanding. "Then I think it's only fair that we divide up your friend here, too. Tell me, what parts of him do you want?"

This time it takes both Youngbae and Seungri to hold Seunghyun back as he charges in unbridled fury. His mate's life is on the line here, not to mention his _dignity_ , do they not see that? Do they not _care?_ To hell with the land, to hell with controlling their resources, just give him _Daesung_.

" _Stop_ , you'll get him killed," Youngbae hisses at him. "He's their bargaining chip. They won't hurt him unless you go and lose your cool and _fuck things up_." Seunghyun strains against his hold, against his voice of reason, while Seungri wrestles with his other side.

"Seunghyun, _please_ ," Seungri begs him. "Don't make this worse for him."

"Jiyong knows what he's doing. Trust him. Trust our leader."

"This deal is all or nothing. If you want your friend back in one piece, you'll hand your territory over to us... all of it." He drags Daesung close again and says, "We don't care if you all starve. Give us what we want and we'll give you back your fucktoy."

Seunghyun growls at his leader, "Fucking _give it to them_ , Jiyong." It's too much.

Jiyong levels the man across from them with a look so full of acid Seunghyun is amazed he does not simply dissolve where he stands. Seunghyun can see the wheels turning in his head, his sharp mind working in overdrive as he analyzes their options from every possible angle. The growing darkness in his expression tells Seunghyun all he needs to know.

They can't win this one. Not without sacrificing Daesung to the enemy's claws, which would be no victory at all.

"Fuck it," he spits, the words tumbling out of him. "Fine. It's yours, you can have it. Hunt all you want, eat to your heart's content, gorge yourself until there really is nothing left." The land is practically useless already.

"Glad we could come to an agreement," the man says with a sour smile.

Jiyong's countenance is deadly. "You'll regret this."

"Careful," the man warns, tugging Daesung's head back sharply and baring his throat to the air-- Daesung, whose survival instinct has him resorting to complete, perfect submission in a last ditch effort to live. "We haven't given him back yet. You're not in any position to be making threats, Jiyong." Claws drag ominously over the tender surface, scratching lightly at the exposed skin, and even at this distance Seunghyun can sense his frantic pulse, can taste the fear and trepidation that's set his heart racing.

"Give him to us," Jiyong says, holding out a hand expectantly.

The other pack's alpha eyes Jiyong's offered hand, sizing up the distance between them.

"He's as good as yours," he says at last. "But if we give him up now, you'll just attack us the second he's safely on your side."

He is not wrong. Seunghyun is a bullet in a loaded gun ready to fire at the slightest touch of the trigger.

"Go home. We'll release him after a while. He'll catch up to you."

"What? No way," Seungri exclaims from his place at Seunghyun's side.

"Daesung," Jiyong calls to him kindly. "They won't hurt you." It is more a warning to their enemy pack than a comfort to his friend. "Come straight home, okay?" And with just that he turns to go, heading back in the direction they came. Though it pains them to turn their backs on one of their own, the others follow his lead.

Seunghyun, however, does not budge.

"Seunghyun," Jiyong says from his position yards away, his back turned.

"Don't make me leave him, please," he begs, beyond pride in his helplessness to do the one thing he is meant for: to protect that which is his.

Jiyong gives him a stern look, but Seunghyun finds no ill will in it. "Come home, Seunghyun."

It's the hardest fucking thing Seunghyun has ever had to do, but he does it. With one final, agonized look at Daesung-- Daesung, who surely cannot see him go through the dark curtain of his hair over his eyes-- turns his back to him and forces his feet into step with the rest of his pack.

"Seunghyun." At his back Daesung whimpers so softly, like a whisper in his mind, and Seunghyun's heart shatters.

He will never forgive himself for it, but Seunghyun goes.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Daesung returns to them later that night, as promised. Physically he looks no worse than when they had left him-- god, they had actually _left_ him with those bastards-- but the way he hides behind his hair, his face perpetually downturned, is all wrong. Seunghyun steals him away from the others promptly-- away from Youngbae's calming voice and curious hands, away from Seungri's sad eyes and deep frown. Fastest of all away he hides him away from Jiyong and his smooth face that gives away nothing, his steely gaze that conceals so much depth of emotion.

He ushers Daesung into the safety of their shared room, where without preamble he strips him of his shirt and pants, examining every inch of him with a careful concern.

"After we left," Seunghyun asks, fearing the answer, "Did they hurt you? Touch you?" Daesung shakes his head.

"I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry, Daesung."

"It's okay, Seunghyun," he says softly. "It's okay. I'm okay."

"It's not fucking okay." It will never be okay, how he had turned his back on Daesung back there.

"What happens now? Our land is really gone? It's theirs?"

"We'll take it back. We'll kill them all. I'll do it myself," Seunghyun promises vehemently, speaking the words with conviction. He will water the earth with their blood, spread their slimy entrails across the fields for the crows.

"We can't fight them. We can't fight anyone. We can't fight at all," Daesung whispers, shaking his head slowly as if imagining the bloodshed. "If we fight now, we will die."

"Then so be it, we'll die," Seunghyun says fiercely, crushing Daesung to him and wrapping arms around him with a fierceness that promises they will never again part. He strokes his mate's hair with a closely guarded jealousy, and his slowly extending fangs prick his own lips carelessly as he vows, "We'll die together."

"I don't want to die," Daesung whispers, returning his embrace with a frailty that both arouses his duty to protect and inspires him to violence. He wants to sink his clawed hands into their enemy's soft flesh, wants to rip a body open with bare hands. And afterward, sticky with blood and grime and gristle, he wishes to flatten himself over every inch of Daesung, his mate, skin to skin, flushing out all traces of his fear with the force of his desire.

Seunghyun is not especially keen on death either, and he hopes it will not come to that. But for Daesung he would gladly die. For Daesung Seunghyun would kill ruthlessly, would destroy any who seek to do him harm. For Daesung, for him alone, he would tear apart the fragile fabric of their society, would level everything the world over if he could only summon the strength.

For Daesung, anything.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
One evening when the others are out Seunghyun brings back an armful of meat-- an actual _pile_ of the stuff-- using the front of his shirt as a cloth basket and cradling it like treasure. The metallic scent of blood that hits Daesung's nostrils the moment Seunghyun comes in the door nearly sends him into a panic-- until he realizes that the blood is not Seunghyun's own. When he sees what Seunghyun has brought his eyes light up in delight.

Seunghyun unloads his catch onto their wood table-- not a whole animal carcass like Daesung would expect, but rather inexpertly cut chunks, strips, and slices of a vibrant red meat that he has some trouble identifying right away.

"This is _amazing_ , Seunghyun," he says, fawning over it in his interest, his mouth beginning to water at the sight and smell of such a bounty. At least his salivary glands still work; his stomach, so accustomed by now to emptiness, does not so much as twitch. By now Daesung has gone so long without eating anything substantial that he forgets to feel hungry anymore. Or maybe it's that he no longer remembers what it is like to feel sated.

"What is it?" he asks, not that it matters much.

"Fox."

"You actually caught a fox? Wow." Foxes are a rare sight and an even rarer catch. Daesung has found that fox meat is actually quite foul to eat, but right now, truly, any meat at all is a blessing. He bends close to get a good whiff. It looks alright, smells even better, but something about it seems... off.

"This seems pretty dark for fox meat." And there is a lot of it, too. Foxes are delicate creatures once you get beneath all that thick fur.

"Does it matter? Just eat it," Seunghyun says sharply. Daesung looks at him strangely.

"What about you?"

"I already had some."

Daesung eyes him with a healthy amount of skepticism. "Are you just saying that?"

"No," Seunghyun says impatiently. "I really did already eat. Out in the field, I couldn't wait. I brought you what was left." Then, almost sheepishly, he adds, "Sorry. I know fox meat isn't the best."

"As long as it's not wolf," Daesung murmurs, pinching a small strip of the mystery meat between thumb and forefinger. His instinct stops him before it reaches his lips, a nervous energy thrumming under his skin. _Why not bring back the whole animal?_ it wonders. _Why take the time to strip it down first and bring the meat back in pieces?_

Seunghyun does not answer, and his silence prompts Daesung to check on him. He finds him standing there with his eyes squeezed closed like he is in pain.

"That was... That was a joke, Seunghyun," Daesung says, his voice cracking.

"Yeah, it's... Yeah."

Well, _almost_ any meat is a blessing.

"No," Daesung says, dropping the piece he had been holding. It falls back onto the pile with a wet sound. "No, you didn't. Seunghyun, you _didn't_."

Seunghyun does not answer, and Daesung knows the terrible truth of what he's done.

"Did you kill someone for this?" he cries, his shrill voice splitting the air between them. "Or did you just find them fucking lying there, already fucking dead? Him? Her?"

"It's fresh," is Seunghyun's quiet reply. "I'm not a scavenger."

"No, you're just a cannibal!"

"Better than being fucking dead!" Seunghyun shouts back at him. "Which you will be soon if you don't eat something!"

"Then I'll die, fine! I'm not touching this!" Although he already has. "I'm not eating this. I won't. _I can't_."

"Daesung, please," Seunghyun sobs, his eyes red and wet with unshed tears.

"No. Don't you dare make me," Daesung warns him.

" _Just fucking eat it!_ " Seunghyun finally cries, and the sight of him losing his composure in this way frightens Daesung terribly. For an awful moment they stare each other down, Daesung warring with his own rising disgust while Seunghyun's tenuous grip on himself slips away with every rasping breath. Daesung stares at the man across from him like he is seeing him for the first time.

Seunghyun lunges at him.

Daesung twists away too late; before he gets far Seunghyun has grabbed him by the hair and pulled him back against his chest. The hand in his hair hurts dreadfully as he fights against it for a change-- _they are not playing this time_ \-- but the strength of Seunghyun's grip is too great and they go down together, landing on the floor hard, Daesung trapped on his stomach beneath the other.

"Does it matter where the meat came from when you're dying?" Seunghyun aks him through another ragged sob, quickly flipping him over and straddling his middle, his weight a painful pressure over Daesung's hollow stomach. "It's _good meat_. That's all that matters. It will make you strong again. _I won't let you die_. You have to eat!"

"Oh god," Daesung gasps tearfully, his bucking and writhing not enough to throw Seunghyun off of him, his best efforts to escape the horror of what is about to happen to him utterly failing him.

"Even if I have to force you."

"Don't do this, Seunghyun. Please _,_ _don't!_ "

"I'm doing this for you," Seunghyun says with a feral look in his bright eyes. To Daesung he looks absolutely mad.

"You're doing it for yourself," Daesung howls at him, "I don't want it!"

Seunghyun ignores him. It hurts when he wraps a hand around Daesung's jaw, fingers curling and digging into his cheeks like claws, though the ends of his nails are at the moment mercifully rounded and blunt. It still hurts, still cuts into his skin as Daesung struggles violently, tossing his head left and right wildly while, with his other hand, Seunghyun brings a strip of the vile fare to his face.

"Open up," Seunghyun pleads with him as Daesung jerks his head away, resisting with the last of his body's depleted reserves. "Please, eat, _eat_."

Seunghyun slips his thumb between his lips, hooks it over his bottom row of teeth and pries his jaw open just enough to slip a scrap of the foul stuff inside.

Daesung gags and promptly spits it out, and the way Seunghyun looks like he has wounded him makes him want to disappear forever. He looks gutted. Then that look gives way one of determination, of desperate intent.

"Eat and _live_ , Daesung," he urges, prying his tired jaw open again-- Daesung considers biting him but he can't, _he can't_ \-- and stuffing another scrap of the horrid meat between his lips, tucking it behind his teeth. This time he uses both hands to clamp Daesung's mouth shut.

Daesung feels violated in a way he never has before.

He lies there helplessly, holding the lump in his mouth defiantly, trapped in his loathing. The feel of it on his tongue must be the foulest thing he's ever experienced. How did he get here? How did this happen? What part of the body did this come from? An arm? A leg? Was this a piece of someone's back, chest, abdominal muscle? Did he know this wolf? Had he seen him or her recently?

Daesung gags then, the urge to vomit arriving swiftly in the back of his throat. He panics, wondering if Seunghyun will release him then, will relax his grip enough to let him open his mouth and cough up the contents of his stomach onto the floor-- nothing more than water and bile. He knows Seunghyun well enough to know that he might not.

"Shh, shhhh," Seunghyun says, repeating it as many times as Daesung jerks against him, afraid he's going to choke on the slimy thing inside his mouth, or even on his own vomit if his stomach rebels further. "You're okay. You're okay."

Daesung is not okay. He is _not_. He had promised himself. He had sworn up and down that he would never eat the flesh of another wolf. It would do something to him, surely. He swore he would rather die than debase himself like that, and he had meant it.

He had not taken Seunghyun into account. Didn't consider that Seunghyun would not let him simply fade away. That he would love Daesung too much to let him go.

"Just swallow it. It won't hurt you," Seunghyun encourages. A hand squeezes and massages at his throat, fingers working in a downward motion and coaxing him to swallow.

In time, Daesung does. It is not a conscious action, being little more than a reflex, his mate's fingers playing his body masterfully, turning his own processes against him. His tongue presses against the roof of his mouth, sending the soggy strip of muscle back and down, into the opening of his throat. He swallows his mouthful, and just like that, it's gone.

Daesung cannot feel it moving down his throat, though he imagines he does. He does not feel it hit his stomach, though he knows it will. Fat tears roll down the sides of his face as Seunghyun thanks him, pets him, praises him for doing this thing; and he _hates_ it, but with every word his resistance withers away. As Daesung weeps beneath him, his lover, his _soulmate_ reaches into the pile again, lifting another piece meant for him, mindless of the tear tracks cutting ragged trails down his own thin face.

He just doesn't have the strength to fight anymore.

Daesung cries and cries while Seunghyun feeds him the rest, until there is nothing left.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Never give in.

Never give up.

The pack cling to survival with tooth and claw, doing whatever it takes to keep their hearts beating, their blood pumping through shrinking veins. Only a thread of hope and an indomitable will to live sustains them.

But the slow decay of starvation takes it toll in many ways.

Seunghyun wakes late one night. Though unaware of what has woken him, now that he is awake he knows what he would like do. Asleep on his side, Daesung's back is to him.

There is something he wants from him. He rolls over and slides his hand down the front of his mate's body, heading straight for the prize between his legs.

When he gets there Daesung jerks awake, but is otherwise still, the tempo of his breathing beginning to pick up. Seunghyun grins, massages his cock and rubs at his balls, working him over and anticipating his arousal with a growing excitement of his own. Under his hand Daesung squirms, his hips rolling a little, but beyond that he doesn't react.

Seunghyun's brow furrows. He presses closer to the man before him and tries again to coax him to hardness; he squeezes gently at the soft flesh in his hand, tugs softly along its length, curls his palm around the sensitive head of Daesung's cock. At last, he curls his warm hand underneath his sex and cups him, waiting expectantly.

Nothing happens.

"Daesung?" he says into the silence, confused by the limp weight of Daesung's unresponsive cock in his hand.

Abruptly, Daesung moves away from him, rolling onto his stomach. Seunghyun's hand falls away.

"Daesung," he says again in concern.

"I can't," Daesung says, ducking his head in shame. "I'm sorry. I want to but... I can't." And suddenly Seunghyun understands.

"If you need to... you can," Daesung offers, wiggling his hips against the mattress in invitation.

"No," Seunghyun says, feeling sorry for the both of them, and a little rejected. Has this ever happened before? He can't think of a time when Daesung hasn't taken to his touch. "No, it's okay. Go back to sleep," he murmurs, his fingertips smoothing across the small of Daesung's back as he rolls over onto his own to stare up at the ceiling he can't see above him in the dark.

So hunger has taken even this from them.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
The cold persists, no different than any other hardship these days, it seems. It is as if the earth itself is against their continued existence.

Late one evening he and Daesung curl up before a hastily-built fire, pressing tightly to one another to keep warm in the night's frigid air. The whole pack gathers 'round, Jiyong and Youngbae and Seungri snuggling up close to ward off the chill, tails wrapped tightly around their waists. They are cold and they are starving, but by some miracle they still have each other.

They are still alive.

Just over the collar of Daesung's coat Seunghyun can make out the field of tiny scars dotted up and down the back of his neck, their smooth surface reflecting the dancing firelight, their raised centers lighting up on him like burning brands. His marks. Overcome by a surge of devotion, Seunghyun leans into Daesung, nibbling on the soft skin behind his ear. Daesung sighs, a serene sound.

"Seunghyun," he murmurs, sounding near sleep. "I'm glad you're here."

"I'll always be here," Seunghyun answers softly.

"I'm glad to be here with you." A sweet sentiment, one that Daesung is usually reluctant to admit.

Seunghyun nips at his ear and murmurs, "Stay with me, Daesung. I'll keep you warm."

"I know you will," Daesung replies. When Seunghyun draws away just enough to get a good look at him, he sees Daesung's eyes half-lidded, gazing vacantly into the flames of their modest campfire. Seunghyun does not know what passes through his lover's head in that moment, for all their history and connection cannot see past the glassy sheen over his dark eyes. He frowns.

He leans in and whispers, "I love you," lips touching the folds of Daesung's ear in the gentlest kiss. Daesung smiles-- at his words or his touch, who can say?-- and closes his eyes, turning his face into Seunghyun's shoulder, looking utterly at peace.

They may be weak. They may be afraid, every one of them. Their future may be uncertain, but Seunghyun knows one thing: he will be with Daesung until the end.

Before long, with the comforting weight of Daesung against one side and the rest of his pack on the other, the crackling of the fire and the warmth of it over his face lulls Seunghyun to sleep.

He closes his eyes and dreams.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
Daesung wakes under the crushing grip of suffocation.

He stumbles to his feet and immediately starts coughing violently, choking on the air around him; thick plumes of black smoke cloud his vision and fill his lungs to the point where he _cannot draw breath_. It fucking hurts, the way his lungs squeeze inside his chest and try to draw oxygen from the air where there is none. Licks of flame rise up from all around him; he has lived here for years but now, in this heated moment, he can't remember which way will take him _out_.

Something grabs him and pulls him to the floor where the air is clearer, breathable at least. In the haze his rescuer is hidden from him, but Daesung would recognize the strong, _desperate_ grip on the back of his neck anytime, anywhere. With a painful grip Seunghyun drags him along the floor and Daesung crawls beside on his elbows, coughing severely all the while, his throat burning in pain.

Is the fire around him, or inside him?

Emerging outside is like breaking the surface of water; he can _breathe_ again. Once away from the smoke and flames, Daesung finds himself lifted up and urged away from the building, the heat of the inferno at his back, and the air around him clears. Doubling over with hands on his knees, Daesung gasps for air, sucking the oxygen into his lungs in enormous gulps, feeling like he can never get enough of it. At his side Seunghyun does the same, his chest heaving under the strain.

In shock, Daesung understands what has happened; this night they have come closer than ever to death.

Through watering eyes he sees Jiyong and Youngbae not far off, steadying a similarly afflicted Seungri, the younger wolf gazing at the flames with wide, red eyes. Wiping at his own face, Daesung finally turns around to see what madness he just escaped.

There in the deep of night, shivering as much from shock as from the cold, the five of them behold the burning remains of what was once their home.

When Seunghyun turns to him, he looks as lost as Daesung feels. Daesung only remembers the cozy warmth of the fire as he had drifted off, recalls the sight of embers burning low, their golden centers gradually dimming-- or had he dreamed that? In his last moments of wakefulness he had thought the fire was somehow symbolic of their pack, the five of them who once burned so brightly slipping away into death's embrace quietly, with not even a whimper.

He could have slipped under, then; could have drifted away. Daesung might have succumbed to sleep's sweet embrace, never to return to the land of the living, forsaking this harsh world forever, and he would not have minded. He had felt at peace, protected in his mate's warm embrace, surrounded by the love of his packmates.

Then, he had awoken into a nightmare, pulled back to consciousness under a blazing inferno, heat on all sides urging him onto his feet in the most harrowing wakeup call of his life.

Perhaps it is not the end for him, not now. There is life in him yet.

They look to Jiyong, for the first time ever truly not knowing, even fearing, how their leader might react.

Jiyong seems to forget them. Ignoring the weight of four pairs of eyes on him, casting off the burden of four wondering minds, he sinks to the ground and, with knees in the dirt, watches the flames devour the last of their life in this wretched land.

  
  
  
\--

  
  
  
The following morning they pick through what little can be salvaged and journey west at last, armed with little more than the fragile hope of a better life, the rising sun warm against their backs.

 

 

 


End file.
